Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip
210 1 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
[h=4]Hunt for third Tunisia museum attacker[/h]Tunisia's president said a hunt is underway for a third attacker after more than 20 people were killed by gunmen at a museum in the country's capital last week.
{# #}
[h=4]Sent![/h]A link has been sent to your friend's email address.
[h=4]Posted![/h]A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
[h=6]Join the Nation's Conversation[/h]To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
CCTV footage of two gunmen inside the Bardo museum was released by the Tunisian government on Saturday. AP
A handout photograph showing one gunmen walking through the Bardo museum.(Photo: Tunsian Interior Ministry, EPA)
Tunisia's president said a hunt is underway for a third attacker after more than 20 people were killed by gunmen at a museum in the country's capital last week.
Speaking with French TV network iTele from inside the Bardo Museum on Sunday, President Beji Caid Essebsi said the attack involved "three aggressors" and the third man escaped, the Associated Press reported.
Surveillance video of two gunmen walking through the museum was released by the Tunisian Interior Ministry on Saturday. The footage shows the attackers carrying bags and assault rifles. They encounter a man as he comes down some stairs and point their weapons at him, before he flees.
The gunmen stormed the museum, a popular tourist attraction in the capital of Tunis on Wednesday, taking hostages and gunning down civilians before two attackers were killed by police. The death toll has risen from 23 to 25, according to media reports. Most of the dead were foreign tourists, at least 17 of them from cruise ships.
USA TODAY
Tunisians rally at museum where terrorists killed 21
In an interview published Saturday, President Essebsi told Paris Match magazine that security failures meant "police and intelligence were not systematic enough to ensure the safety of the museum." However, he said security services responded effectively to quickly end the attack, avoiding dozens more deaths if the gunmen were able to trigger their suicide belts.
On Saturday, authorities said more than 20 suspected militants were arrested, including 10 believed to have been directly involved in the attack.
The slain gunmen were identified as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui, both Tunisians. Prime Minister Habib Essid said Laabidi had been flagged by intelligence authorities, although not for "anything special."
The Islamic State released an online recording claiming responsibility for the shooting rampage. However social media accounts linked to a group in Tunisia affiliated with al-Qaeda also published purported details of the operation, Reuters reported.
USA TODAY
Accomplices sought in Tunisia terror attack
USA TODAY
Holland America cancels Tunisia calls in wake of attack
Laabidi's brother on Saturday described him as a sociable person who "enjoyed a drink with mates," according to the BBC.
He said his brother was "brainwashed by swines who send young men to their death in the name of religion," the broadcaster reported. Rafik Chelli, the Interior Ministry's top security official, said the two dead gunmen trained in camps in Libya before the attack.
More than 3,000 Tunisians have joined Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the Tunisian government estimates. Training camps in neighboring Libya provide easy access to the fight for Tunisian Muslims discontent with the fledgling democracy in Tunis.
Tunisia has struggled with militants since a revolution ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Since then, there have been assassinations of liberal, secular politicians and attacks on tourist haunts.
A number of cruise lines canceled calls in Tunisia following the attack on the museum.
Contributing: John Bacon and William M. Welch
0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed