TUNIS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Islamist militants killed three Tunisian soldiers and wounded seven others on Monday, opening fire on them with rifles and rocket propelled grenades after their patrol hit anti-tank landmines, an army spokesman said.

Brigades of jihadists use the remote Mount Sammama area as a base and the military has been hunting them down for months in the rugged terrain near the Algerian border.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Patrick Markey and Louise Ireland) ((tarek.amara@thomsonreuters.com;))