Tunisia museum gunman known to intelligence services

[Luke Skywalker]

{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:

Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip

121 1 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

[h=4]Tunisia museum gunman known to intelligence services[/h]One of the gunmen who stormed a museum in Tunisia, took hostages and killed 19 people was known to intelligence services, the country's prime minister said Thursday.

{# #}
[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]


Gunmen opened fire Wednesday at a museum in Tunisia's capital, killing at least eight people, including seven foreign tourists and wounding six. A later raid by security forces left two gunmen and one officer dead but ended the standoff. (March 18) AP


A Tunisian woman holds a placard reading in French "Tunisia will remain standing" as she takes part in a protest on March 18, 2015 a few hours after an attack on the National Bardo Museum.(Photo: Sofiene Hamadaoui, AFP/Getty Images)


One of the gunmen who stormed a museum in Tunisia, took hostages and killed 19 people was known to intelligence services, the country's prime minister said Thursday.
Habib Essid said in an interview with RTL radio that the North African nation is working with other countries to find out more more about the attackers, the Associated Press reported. The slain gunmen have been identified as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui.
Essid said Laabidi was flagged to intelligence, although not for "anything special." No formal links to any particular terror group have been established, the AP said.
USA TODAY
Accomplices sought in Tunisia terror attack




The attack was launched at the National Bardo Museum, a popular tourist attraction in the capital Tunis on Wednesday. Laabidi and Khachnaoui were killed when authorities swept in and freed the hostages. A manhunt is underway for two or three accomplices.
Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi on Thursday said the country is in a "war with terror." In comments broadcast on national TV, he said: "These monstrous minorities do not frighten us. We will resist them until the deepest end without mercy. Democracy will win and it will survive."
Two of the cruise ships whose passengers were among the victims sailed out of the port of Tunis early on Thursday. MSC Cruises said nine passengers from the Splendida were killed, 12 injured and six unaccounted-for, according to the AP. The Costa Fascinosa said 13 passengers had not returned on board when the ship left the port, the news agency reported.
Some 17 foreign tourists from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Spain, Australia, Poland and France were killed, along with two Tunisian nationals. At least 44 people were wounded including tourists from Italy, France, Japan, South Africa, Poland, Belgium and Russia, authorities said.
Speaking to Japanese public broadcaster NHK over the phone from a hospital in Tunisia, Japanese tourist Noriko Yuki, 35, said she was on the second floor of the museum when a gunman dressed in black opened fire from a doorway. She also heard an explosion, she said.
The broadcaster reported that Yuki, who sustained wounds to her back and hands, said her 68-year-old mother was also injured and underwent surgery at a Tunisian hospital.
USA TODAY
Analysis: Tunisia attack raises concerns about radicals




U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, who is visiting Tokyo to promote the education of girls in developing countries, said she and President Obama wanted to "express our condolences over the horrific event yesterday in Tunisia.
She added: "Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those who were lost here in Japan and around the world. They are very much in our thoughts and prayers today."
Tunisia, the northernmost African nation, 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.
Contributing: A. Khelifa and Katharina Wecker, Special for USA TODAY
0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>




Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed