A Tunisian national guard colonel was seriously injured when a group of Salafists clashed with alcohol vendors in a town near the country's capital, the official TAP news agency reported Monday.

The officer, Wissem Ben Slimane, was attacked in the neck by a knife during the clashes in the town of Douar El Hicher overnight Saturday, and had to undergo a surgery in a nearby hospital, TAP said.

Similar events have also taken place in other parts of the country. A few weeks ago a hotel bar was ransacked by Islamic fundamentalists in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid, after its owner refused the attackers' request not to sell alcohol.

In spite of a recent crackdown on religious extremists since the attack on the U.S. embassy on Sept. 14, a number of Salafist activists have attacked some shrines, as well as alcohol retail shops throughout the country.