A state of emergency has been declared in Tunisia just over a week after 38 tourists, mainly British, died in an attack in the resort city of Sousse.
The state of emergency gives security forces more powers and limits the right of public assembly.
Tunisian authorities had already tightened security, deploying more than 1,400 armed officers at hotels and beaches.
President Beji Caid Essebsi said in a national address that “exceptional measures” were needed.
“In order to face up to this scourge we need to be prepared. We need to have enough troops, proper training and material means – we are in desperate need of material means,” he said, appealing for international counter-terrorism support and co-operation.
The state of emergency will be in place for a renewable period of 30 days.
An official from PM Habib Essid’s office said several officials had been sacked in the wake of the attack, including the governor of Sousse.
“Just as there have been security failures, there have also been political failures,” Dhafer Neji told AFP.
Security forces were criticized for not responding more quickly to the attack on June 26 in Sousse, when a gunman opened fire on tourists on a beach and in a hotel before being shot dead by police.
The gunman has been identified as student Seifeddine Rezgui, who authorities say had trained in Libya.
PM Habib Essid said Seifeddine Rezgui had probably trained with the Ansar al-Sharia group, though Islamic State (ISIS) earlier said it was behind the attack.
Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Seifeddine Rezgui, and the government says it has uncovered the network behind the Sousse attack.
Authorities have also pledged to close some 80 mosques that were operating outside government control and accused of spreading extremism.
The last time Tunisia declared a state of emergency was in 2011, in the uprising which overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. It was lifted in March 2014.
Officials are expected to pass a counter-terrorism bill that has been in parliament since early 2014 in the coming weeks.
Eight people, including a woman, remain in Tunisian police custody on suspicion of being directly linked to the deadly attack on tourists in Sousse, a minister has announced.
Four other people who had been detained have been released, he added.
Thirty-eight tourists were killed when gunman Sefeddine Rezgui opened fire on a beach.
ISIS militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Thirty of the victims were British citizens.
Tunisia’s government fears the attack will destroy its tourism industry, the country’s biggest foreign currency earner.
In March, two gunmen killed 22 people at the famous Bardo museum in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis.
Government minister Kamel Jendoubi said at a media conference that investigations had “allowed us to discover the network behind the operation in Sousse”.
Kamel Jendoubi did not elaborate on the identities of the suspects or their alleged role.
He said ten UK investigators were assisting with the investigation, the AFP news agency reports.
Kamel Jendoubi also said that Tunisia has deployed 1,377 armed security agents at hotels and on beaches to guarantee the safety of people, AFP reports.
Tunisian authorities have identified 23-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui as the gunman who carried out the attack.
Police have released photos of two suspects, Bin Abdallah and Rafkhe Talari – friends of Seifeddine Rezgui whom they are yet to locate.
Tunisian officials believe both the Sousse and Bardo museum gunmen were trained in Libya, which has been mostly lawless since NATO-led forces overthrew long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
ISIS has built a significant presence in Libya, Tunisia’s eastern neighbor, and is thought to control the major towns of Derna and Sirte.
Tunisian authorities have arrested twelve suspects in connection with the deadly attack in Sousse, an official has said.
Security forces were still hunting for two men suspected of having trained in Libya with gunman Seifeddine Rezgui who killed 38 people, he added.
Most of those killed on a beach in Sousse were British, along with other European holidaymakers.
ISIS militant group has claimed the attack as its own.
Tunisia’s government fears the attack will destroy its tourism industry, the country’s biggest foreign currency earner.
In March, two gunmen killed 22 people at the famous Bardo museum in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis.
“This is a group who were trained in Libya, and who had the same objective. Two attacked the Bardo and one attacked Sousse,” Lazhar Akremi, minister for parliamentary relations, said, Reuters news agency reports.
“Police are hunting for two more,” he is quoted as saying.
Lazhar Akremi did not say when the arrests were made.
Tunisian authorities have identified 23-year-old student Seifeddine Rezgui as the gunman who carried out the attack.
They have released photos of two suspects, Bin Abdallah and Rafkhe Talari – friends of Seifeddine Rezgui that the police have yet to locate.
ISIS has a significant presence in Libya, Tunisia’s eastern neighbor, and is thought to control the major towns of Derna and Sirte.
The names of those killed in the attack are being released as well as those who are injured and missing.
New footage has emerged of the attack at the Tunisian resort of Sousse on June 26, which left 38 people, mostly tourists, dead.
It was filmed by a staff member at one of the hotels where the shootings took place.
The unnamed hotel worker chased Seifeddine Rezgui moments after he slaughtered 38 innocent tourists including 18 Britons.
The man can be seen running after Seifeddine Rezgui as the ISIS militant selects his targets.
At one point he even picks up what appears to be a bottle of olive oil as he attempts to sneak up behind the 23-year-old assassin to disarm him.
The 11-minute video was released as Tunisia made its first arrests in connection with the terror attack.
Tunisia’s Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli said: “We have started by arresting a first group, a significant number of people, from the network that was behind this terrorist criminal.”
Najem Gharsalli added that officials were still verifying whether Seifeddine Rezgui had been trained in Libya in jihadist camps.
A group of people have been arrested in Tunisia over the massacre of 38 people, mainly tourists, by gunman Seifeddine Rezgui at the beach resort of Sousse on June 26, the country’s interior minister has said.
Mohamed Gharsalli said 1,000 troops would now be deployed to protect Tunisia’s beach resorts.
Three European ministers have laid flowers at the scene of the attack in a sign of solidarity.
Islamic State (ISIS) has said it was behind the attack.
“We have started by arresting a first group, a significant number of people, from the network that was behind this terrorist criminal,” said Mohamed Gharsalli, referring to Seifeddine Rezgui.
Tunisian authorities say Seifeddine Rezgui was the only attacker, but he had accomplices who provided him with weapons and logistical support, reports AP news agency.
“We are friends against one enemy,” said Mohamed Gharsalli, addressing his counterparts from the UK, Germany and France.
Seifeddine Rezgui came onto the beach from the sea either by jet ski or speedboat at about midday on June 26. He started shooting on the beach, entered the Hotel Imperial Marhaba and ran out of the front of the hotel before the police shot him dead.
The attack was the deadliest in Tunisia’s recent history. In March, militants killed 22 people, mainly foreigners, at the Bardo museum in the capital Tunis.
Tunisian authorities say army reservists will be deployed to tourist sites and that about 80 mosques accused of inciting violence will be closed within a week.
Tunisia has launched a security clampdown after Sousse attack in which 38 people were killed, PM Habib Essid has announced.
Habib Essid said army reservists would be deployed to archaeological sites and resorts.
About 80 mosques accused of “spreading venom” will close within a week, he said.
Authorities say most of the victims in yesterday’s attack near Sousse were Britons. The gunman was shot dead.
Officials say he was a student not previously known to authorities.
Five Britons were confirmed dead and the Foreign Office warned the death toll could rise.
Tunisians, Germans, Belgians, French and at least one Irish citizen were also among those killed in the attack, which was claimed by Islamic State (ISIS). Thirty-six people are injured, officials say.
It was the second major attack on tourists in Tunisia since March, when militants killed 22 people, mainly foreigners, at Bardo museum in Tunis.
Speaking at a news conference in Tunis, Habib Essid said some mosques outside government control were spreading “their propaganda and their venom to promote terrorism” and would be shut down.
Habib Essid also vowed to act against parties and groups “acting outside the constitution” – such action could range from a warning to closure.
He said army reservists would be deployed at sensitive sites to ensure such attacks could not happen again.
“The country is under threat; the government is under threat,” Habib Essid said.
“Without the co-operation of everyone and a show of unity, we cannot win this war. We have won some battles and lost others, but our objective is to win the war.”
Security officials said the attacker, who had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol, started shooting on the beach before entering the Hotel Imperial Marhaba, continuing to shoot.
Local media reported a second suspected attacker had been arrested, but this has not been confirmed.
ISIS had urged followers to step up assaults during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Many of the tourists in hotels affected by the attack left Tunisia overnight, with tour operators arranging special flights to take them home.
Friday’s attack was the deadliest in Tunisia’s recent history. The country has seen militant Islamists gain strength since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in in 2011.
Democratic elections after Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s removal saw the moderate Islamist Ennahda party take power before the secularist Nidaa Tounes government won a parliamentary poll in October.
However, neither party has been able effectively to combat Islamist violence – which has been made worse by conflict in neighboring Libya and by Tunisian fighters returning home after joining Islamist campaigns in Iraq and Syria.
At least 37 people, mostly foreign tourists, have been killed and 36 others wounded after a hotel in the Tunisian coastal city of Sousse came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
According to officials, one gunman has been shot dead and another is being pursued.
Tunisians, Britons, Germans and Belgians and at least one Irish citizen are among the dead.
In March militants killed 22 people, mainly foreign tourists, in an attack on a museum in the capital Tunis.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has gone to Sousse’s Sahloul hospital to visit the injured.
Security officials said one attacker, who had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol, was shot dead in an exchange of fire with police.
Local media reported that the second attacker had been arrested, but this has not been confirmed. A photo purporting to show the body of the first attacker is circulating on social media.
The Hotel Imperial Marhaba was named as one of the hotels close to the attack.
The Belgian foreign ministry is advising against all travel to Tunisia and the Belgian Jetairfly airline has announced it is cancelling all flights to Tunisia because of the attack.
A spokeswoman for the Thomson and First Choice tour operators said: “We are working closely with our teams in Tunisia and the relevant authorities to determine exactly what has happened and provide assistance to those affected.”
Tunisia has seen militant Islamists gain strength since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in a popular uprising in 2011.
Democratic elections after Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s removal saw the moderate Islamist Ennahda party take power before the secularist Nidaa Tounes government won a parliamentary poll in October.
However, neither party has been able effectively to combat Islamist violence made worse by a raging conflict in neighboring Libya and by Tunisian fighters returning home after going to join Islamist campaigns in Iraq and Syria.
Tunisia’s Bardo museum reopening after last week’s attack that killed at least 22 people has been delayed until March 29.
Bardo museum had been due to reopen on Tuesday morning, March 24, but there will now only be a symbolic ceremony.
Security concerns appear to have halted the reopening.
The reopening, less than a week after the attacks, was intended to show the gunmen “haven’t achieved their goal”.
Only the media will be allowed inside the museum on March 24. A small rally was held in front of the museum.
There are fears the attack – claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) – will hit Tunisia’s vital tourism industry.
On March 23, Tunisian PM Habib Essid dismissed six police chiefs.
Habib Essid’s office said he had noted several security deficiencies during a visit to the museum, which houses a major collection of Roman mosaics and other antiquities.
Two of the gunmen were killed by the security forces during last Wednesday’s attack, while a third is on the run, officials said.
The attack was the deadliest in Tunisia since the uprising which led to the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
Suspects have been arrested over the attack but just two gunmen were thought to have raided the museum.
They are said to have been trained in Libya in an area controlled by ISIS militants.
Bardo Museum in Tunisia’s capital is due to reopen less than a week after gunmen killed at least 22 people, mostly European tourists.
A concert and a public rally are expected, with museum officials saying they want to show the world that the gunmen “haven’t achieved their goal”.
There are fears the attack – claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) – will hit Tunisia’s vital tourism industry.
On March 23, Tunisian PM Habib Essid dismissed six police chiefs.
Habib Essid’s office said he had noted several security deficiencies during a visit to the museum, which houses a major collection of Roman mosaics and other antiquities.
Two of the gunmen were killed by the security forces during last Wednesday’s attack, while a third is on the run, officials said.
The attack was the deadliest in Tunisia since the uprising which led to the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
Suspects have been arrested over the attack but just two gunmen were thought to have raided the museum.
They are said to have been trained in Libya in an area controlled by ISIS militants.
According to Tunisian authorities, 23 people were killed – though it is not clear if totals provided by the authorities include the gunmen. Some of the countries involved have given different totals and not all the dead have been identified.
The dead include:
At least three Tunisians, including a police officer involved in the security operation
Five Japanese were killed, according to Tunisian PM Habib Essid – although Japan says it has only confirmed the deaths of three citizens
Four Italians
Two Colombians
Two Spaniards
One national each from the UK, Australia, France and Poland [youtube Gqs3LClwmjo 650]
Tunisian authorities have arrested 9 people in connection with Bardo Museum attack in Tunis on March 18, the Tunisian presidency says.
The attack left 23 people dead, including 20 foreign tourists.
It alleged that four were directly linked to the attack and five had “ties to the cell”.
The army will also be deployed to major cities, the presidency added.
In another development, Islamic State (ISIS) said in an audio message that it was behind the attack.
It said the attack was carried out by “two knights of the caliphate” and named them as Abu-Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu-Anas al-Tunisi.
Photo Getty Images
A statement described the attack as a “blessed invasion of one of the dens of infidels and vice in Muslim Tunisia”.
The statement was published by Twitter accounts known to be reliable sources of ISIS propaganda.
One of two gunmen involved in the Bardo Museum attack, named by Tunisian officials as Yassine Laabidi, was reportedly known to the authorities.
Yassine Laabidi and his accomplice, named as Hatem Khachnaoui, were killed as security forces stormed the museum.
It was not immediately clear how the identities of the gunmen corresponded to the names given by ISIS. Jihadist groups, including ISIS, often give their fighters noms de guerre.
Tourists from Japan, Colombia, the UK and other European countries were killed in the attack and more than 40 people were injured.
The suspects arrested on March 19 were not identified and no further details of their alleged involvement were given.
In a statement, the presidency said Tunisia was facing “exceptional circumstances”, adding that “terrorist operations have now moved from the mountains to the cities”.
“After a meeting with the armed forces, the president has decided large cities will be secured by the army,” the statement added.
On March 19, two Spanish tourists and a Tunisian museum worker were found at the museum after having hidden there overnight believing the attack might not have been over, police said.
Two cruise companies – MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises – said they were suspending stopovers in Tunis.
MSC said in a statement that at least nine of those killed had been passengers on its MSC Splendida cruise ship which was docked in Tunis. It said another 12 of its passengers were injured and six were still unaccounted for.
Costa Cruises said that three passengers from the Costa Fascinosa had died. Eight others were injured and two were unaccounted for, company CEO Michael Thamm said in a statement.
[youtube 1ypZx0xFlJM 650]
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