An Algerian general on Monday warned of a "worrying" situation on the country's vulnerable borders, faced with chaos in neighboring Libya and northern Mali.

"The deteriorating security situation in the neighboring countries are all factors that require permanent vigilance and rigorous deployment," Boualem Madi told Algerian radio.

Tunisian authorities have arrested suspected Islamist militants from Libya and Tunisia who were allegedly plotting attacks against tourist and industrial sites, Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou said Sunday.

The suspects had infiltrated Tunisia from Libya "and their targets were tourism and industrial zones," the minister told local radio stations.

A blogger active during Tunisia's 2011 uprising accused police in court on Friday of fabricating cannabis charges against him because of his role in the revolt.

Azyz Amami and a friend, Sabri Ben Mlouka, arrested on May 12, are on trial for "possession and consumption of drugs," a charge which could see them jailed for up to five years. 

A Tunisian soldier was killed and five others wounded Friday by a mine in the Mount Chaambi region near the Algerian border, the defense ministry said.

Since late 2012, security forces have been battling jihadist militants accused of having links to Al-Qaida who are hiding out in the region, just a few kilometers (miles) from the Algerian border.

A young Tunisian freed in March after two years in prison for posting cartoons deemed insulting to Islam, saw his eight-month sentence on a separate charge confirmed on appeal Wednesday.

Jabeur Mejri received the same sentence handed down by the court of first instance in April for insulting a public official, his lawyer Ahmed Mselmi told Agence France Presse.

Tunisia on Monday formed a long-awaited truth and justice commission, more than three years after the 2011 revolution, to implement "transitional justice" and compensate the victims of decades of dictatorship.

The 15-member body, which was elected by the national assembly with a majority of 71 votes, will also be tasked with identifying and bringing to trial those responsible for abuses committed under the former regimes of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Habib Bourguiba.

Despite years of security concerns and a harsh debate over Israeli passports, officials said Sunday the number of Jewish pilgrims taking part in an annual rite in Tunisia is up dramatically for the first time in years.

Rene Trabelsi, who helps organize the trek to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa's oldest, said 2,000 people, including 1,000 from abroad, took part in the three-day pilgrimage ending Sunday.

Two youths, one a Tunisian, were given six-month suspended sentences on Sunday for protesting against a fourth presidential mandate for Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika, their lawyers said.

The head of presidential security under ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali walked free on Saturday after a controversial appeal ruling cut his jail sentence from 20 years to three.

"Ali Seriati left Mornaguia prison (outside Tunis) at 6 am (0500 GMT) and returned to his home," his brother Youssef told AFP.

A renowned blogger active during the 2011 revolution was bound over for trial Thursday on charges of consuming cannabis as a campaign grows demanding changes to a law that many call repressive.

Azyz Amami and his friend Sabri Ben Mlouka, who were arrested Monday night, will face trial on May 23 for "possession and consumption of drugs," their lawyer Bassem Trifi told Agence France Presse.