Third Tunis Bardo Museum attacker 'on the run'

by Rashida Adjani and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tunis

45 minutes ago

A third attacker is still "on the run" after the deadly Bardo Museum attack in which 25 people died, Tunisia's president said in a live TV interview.

"There were certainly three attackers... there is one who is on the run, he won't get far," President Beji Caid Essebsi said on Sunday.
Suspects have been arrested over the attack but just two gunmen were thought to have assaulted the museum.
The news comes after a video was released of the pair roaming the Bardo.
Mr Essebsi said it was clear there had been three attackers, because they had "been identified and filmed on surveillance cameras".
"We've asked the people to help [find the third attacker] because the people are interested in this."
He added in an interview with French media that a monument would be erected in memory of the victims.

Upsurge in extremism

The gunmen are said to have been trained in Libya in an area controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants.

IS has said it was behind the attack on the museum, which is next to the country's parliament.
The two gunmen seen in the video were named as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui. They were both killed in a gunfight with security forces inside the building.
In an earlier interview with Paris Match, Mr Essebsi said that "shortcomings" in Tunisia's security system meant "the police and intelligence services had not been thorough enough in protecting the museum".
However, he added that the security services "reacted very efficiently" to the attack and had helped save dozens of lives.

Twenty foreigners were among those killed in the attack, including British, Japanese, French, Italian and Colombian tourists.
Following the attack, large numbers of Tunisians gathered outside the museum to protest against terrorism.
Tunisia has seen an upsurge in Islamist extremism since the 2011 revolution that ousted dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring.
The leader of Tunisia's moderate Islamist party, Ennadha, says the country will continue to be under threat of attack as long as neighbouring Libya remains unstable.

Rached Ghannouchi told the BBC that IS would not be able to establish a foothold in Tunisia itself but young men were being armed in Libya and crossing borders that were hard to control.
On Saturday, the brother of Yassine Laabidi, one of the gunmen, said Laabidi had been "brainwashed by swines who send young men to their death in the name of religion".

Tunis attack: Gunmen kill tourists in museum rampage

by Rashida Adjani and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tunis

39 minutes ago

Twenty-two people, including 20 foreign tourists, have been killed in a gun attack on the Bardo museum in the Tunisian capital.

Italian, Spanish, Polish and German citizens were among those killed, as well as a Tunisian and a police officer, PM Habib Essid said.
Colombia's president later confirmed two Colombian deaths.
Security forces killed two gunmen and were searching the surrounding area for accomplices, Mr Essid said.
At the time of the attack, deputies in the neighbouring parliamentary building were discussing anti-terrorism legislation. Parliament was evacuated following the attack.
At least 22 tourists and two Tunisians were also injured, Mr Essid said. Other reports suggest up to 50 could have been hurt.
Italian, Polish, South African, French and Japanese tourists were among the injured, Mosaique FM radio reported.

Analysis: BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner
Sadly, this attack did not come out of the blue.

While Tunisia has been spared the catastrophic levels of violence that have plagued other Arab Spring countries like Syria, Yemen and Libya, the country has still suffered from occasional but deadly attacks carried out by Islamist extremists.
In 2013, 22 people were killed. This included a suicide bomber who attacked a beach resort in Sousse. Last year 45 people were killed and already this year the death toll has reached 23, with Wednesday's museum raid following an attack on a mountain checkpoint in February that killed 4 police officers.
In all cases the perpetrators are believed to be jihadists. Tunisian fighters make up a disproportionately high number of foreign recruits to Islamic State (IS) in Syria. More than 3,000 have joined, earning themselves a reputation for ferocity both on and off the battlefield.

At the scene: BBC's Naveena Kottoor in Tunis
The last group of foreign tourists left the Bardo museum by bus under the watch of the Tunisian security forces and hundreds of bystanders. Traffic is flowing again, but bystanders are still here.
One man told me he had come out of sadness and shock. The attack struck at both the political and economic heart of Tunisia. The museum is to many Tunisians what the Louvre is to Paris - a major tourist destination.

This kind of attack on civilians is new here - the last time something similar happened was in 2002. As an act of defiance and national unity, Tunisian politicians are returning to parliament this evening. But many Tunisians had hoped that 2015 would bring a more prosperous and stable future.
Tunisia's militant Islamists: How big a threat?

Mr Essid said: "It is a critical moment in our history, and a defining moment for our future.
"We have not established the identity of the two terrorists... Reports are not final, these two terrorists could have been assisted by two or three other operatives."
Security operations were "still under way", he added.
Parliament will hold an extraordinary session on Wednesday evening. Lawmaker Sayida Ounissi said the session would be held inside the Bardo museum.

Local television footage showed tourists fleeing to safety, escorted by security forces.
A museum employee told Reuters the two attackers "opened fire on the tourists as they were getting off the buses before fleeing into the museum".

'Tanks rolling in'

Eyewitness Yasmine Ryan told the BBC she saw "helicopters flying overhead" and "tanks rolling in" as the security situation unfolded.
The attack is a huge blow for Tunisia's tourism industry and its government, which only emerged at the end of a long political transition several months ago, the BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.
Islamist militants have tried to derail the democratic transition, which, although fragile, remains the most positive result of the Arab Spring in the Middle East, our correspondent adds.

The Bardo National Museum

• Tunisia's largest museum, built in a 15th Century palace
• Contains 8,000 works, including one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics
• Some items in the collection are more than 40,000 years old
• A new wing was added in 2009, doubling its size

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini offered her condolences (in French) to the victims' families, and said the EU would "fully support Tunisia in the fight against terrorism".
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US "stands with the Tunisian people at this difficult time" and would continue to support the government's "efforts to advance a secure, prosperous, and democratic Tunisia".

Tourism is a key sector of Tunisia's economy, with large numbers of Europeans visiting the country's resorts.
In 2002, 19 people, including 11 German tourists, were killed in a bomb blast at a synagogue in the resort of Djerba. Al-Qaeda said it had carried out that attack.
Concerns about security in Tunisia have increased in recent months as neighbouring Libya has become increasingly unstable.
A large number of Tunisians have also left to fight in Syria and Iraq, triggering worries that returning militants could carry out attacks at home.