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Suicide Bombers Attack Security Forces in Tunisia Suicide Bombers Attack Security Forces in Tunisia
(about 4 hours later)
Two suicide bombers struck security forces in quick succession on Thursday morning in the Tunisian capital, killing at least one police officer and wounding several other officers and passers-by, the Interior Ministry said. TUNIS — Two suicide bombers struck security forces in quick succession on Thursday morning in the Tunisian capital, killing at least one police officer and wounding at least eight other people, the Interior Ministry said.
It was the second suicide assault on the streets of Tunis in nine months, stoking worries of renewed instability in a country that emerged as a rare democratic success after the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.It was the second suicide assault on the streets of Tunis in nine months, stoking worries of renewed instability in a country that emerged as a rare democratic success after the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.
The previous attack, in October 2018, was carried out by an unemployed female graduate who, according to her family, had been radicalized online.The previous attack, in October 2018, was carried out by an unemployed female graduate who, according to her family, had been radicalized online.
The first bomber on Thursday struck a security patrol on Rue Charles de Gaulle, near the French Embassy, just before 11 a.m., killing one police officer, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. That attack occurred near the site of the October bombing. The first bomber on Thursday morning struck a security patrol in the city center, near the site of the October attack, killing one police officer and wounding other officers and passers-by, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Ten minutes later, another bomber detonated a device at the back door of a police building in the El Gorjani area of the city, wounding four security officers, the ministry said. The building is part of a large complex that includes the headquarters of an antiterrorism brigade.Ten minutes later, another bomber detonated a device at the back door of a police building in the El Gorjani area of the city, wounding four security officers, the ministry said. The building is part of a large complex that includes the headquarters of an antiterrorism brigade.
Tunisia’s state news agency also said that unidentified “terrorist elements” tried to sabotage a radio transmitter on Mount Orbata, about 175 miles south of Tunis, early on Thursday. Soldiers stationed nearby chased the attackers away and no equipment was damaged, the report said.Tunisia’s state news agency also said that unidentified “terrorist elements” tried to sabotage a radio transmitter on Mount Orbata, about 175 miles south of Tunis, early on Thursday. Soldiers stationed nearby chased the attackers away and no equipment was damaged, the report said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Tunis, which took place months before an election and during the height of the tourist season, and on the same day that Tunisia’s president was taken to a hospital for what officials called a health crisis. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Tunis, which took place months before an election and during the height of the tourist season, and on the same day that Tunisia’s elderly president was taken to a hospital for what officials called a health crisis.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed condemned the attacks as a “cowardly operation” that aimed to “confuse” Tunisians ahead of the presidential vote in November. It “shows that terrorists are desperate after the major security and military successes of recent years,” he said in a statement. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed condemned the attacks as a “cowardly operation” that aimed to “confuse” Tunisians ahead of the presidential vote in November. “I want to tell Tunisians, ‘Don’t be scared,’” he said in a statement.
“I want to tell Tunisians, ‘Don’t be scared,’” he added. Tunisia was the only North African country to achieve an enduring democratic transition after the Arab Spring in 2011, adopting a new Constitution in 2013 and holding free presidential elections a year later.
The North African country has been wracked by several terrorist attacks over the years, with Islamist extremist groups targeting tourists and the nation’s security forces. Tunisia was the only country after the Arab Spring to establish a democratic transition by adopting a new Constitution in 2013 and holding its first national presidential elections in 2014. But its progress has been blighted by terrorist attacks and economic decline. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for two major attacks in 2015 that killed 60 people, mostly European tourists. In recent years the national debt has ballooned, while soaring prices led to nationwide street protests in January.
Footage taken shortly after the first explosion on Thursday showed debris scattered on the roadway, and one officer could be seen clutching a wound on his torso and had blood smeared on his neck. The video also showed what appeared to be body parts scattered on the street. Footage taken shortly after the first explosion on Thursday showed debris and what appeared to be body parts scattered across a street near the French embassy. One officer could be seen clutching a wound on his torso and had blood smeared on his neck.
Several police officers with rifles flooded the area as they scrambled to assess the situation. The sense of crisis was compounded by the announcement hours later that Tunisia’s president, Béji Caïd Essebsi, 92, had been taken to a military hospital after suffering a “severe health crisis,” the presidency said in a statement. Later, as reports circulated on social media that Mr. Essebsi had died, the president’s office issued a statement on its Facebook page saying the president was in stable condition.
Separately, Tunisia’s president, Béji Caïd Essebsi, was taken to a military hospital on Thursday after suffering a “severe health crisis,” the presidency said in a statement. Later, amid reports circulating on social media that Mr. Essebsi had died, the president’s office issued a statement on its Facebook page that said the president had been transferred to a military hospital and was in stable condition. Mr. Essebsi won Tunisia’s first free presidential election, in 2014. In March, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission named him for his role in human rights violations in 1963, when he served as a security official under Tunisia’s post-independence leader, Habib Bourguiba.
Mr. Essebsi, 92, won Tunisia’s first free presidential election, in 2014. In March, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission named him for his role in human rights violations in 1963, when he served as a security official under Tunisia’s post-independence leader, Habib Bourguiba.
On Thursday afternoon, a sense of strained normality prevailed in Tunis, as shops reopened near the site of the bombings.On Thursday afternoon, a sense of strained normality prevailed in Tunis, as shops reopened near the site of the bombings.
Adnen Belhaj, 28, one of the founders of a co-working space located near the site of the first attack, on Rue Charles de Gaulle in the city center, said he heard noises that he initially thought were the sound of malfunctioning electric wires.
But when he heard ambulances and police sirens, he knew something was wrong.
“Everyone here in the neighborhood was checking Facebook,” Mr. Belhaj said, which is how they found out about the attack.
The violence is a further blow to Tunisia’s tourism industry, a key source of income, which is still recovering from the violence of 2015. But the country’s tourism minister, René Trabelsi, vowed that the city would return to normal.
“Life continues,” he said to reporters after the attacks. “We’ll show them that Tunisia isn’t scared of anything.”
He added that he hoped the attacks would not damage the tourism industry.
“This was an attack on Tunisian security,” he said. “It has nothing to do with it.”
In March 2015, gunmen killed 22 people at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis. Three months later, attackers killed 38 people, most of them British tourists, at a beach resort near the town of Sousse. In November that year, a suicide bomber killed 12 members of the presidential guard in central Tunis.In March 2015, gunmen killed 22 people at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis. Three months later, attackers killed 38 people, most of them British tourists, at a beach resort near the town of Sousse. In November that year, a suicide bomber killed 12 members of the presidential guard in central Tunis.
In October, 15 security personnel and five civilians were injured in the bombing on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, a main thoroughfare in the capital. In 2017 the BBC investigative program Panorama, citing investigative documents, said the Bardo Museum and Sousse attacks had been orchestrated by the same Islamic State commander, Chamseddine al-Sandi, now believed to be at large in Libya.