2015 Tunis bombing
2015 Tunis bombing | |
---|---|
Part of ISIL insurgency in Tunisia | |
Location | Tunis, Tunisia |
Date | 24 November 2015 |
Target | Presidential escorts |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
Weapon | Semtex explosive belt |
Deaths | 14 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 16 |
Perpetrators | Houssem Abdelli |
On 24 November 2015, a bus carrying Tunisian presidential guards exploded, killing 12, on a principal road in Tunis, Tunisia. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomber, who also died in the attack, was identified as Houssem Abdelli.
Bombing
On 24 November 2015, at least 12 people were killed in a bus bombing in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The bus was carrying members of the Tunisian Presidential Security guard. The blast happened when the vehicle was parked near a main artery in the Tunisian capital where guard members are typically picked up and dropped off, according to an official in the Tunisian Prime Minister's office.
The explosion, described as an "attack" by presidential spokesman Moez Sinaoui, struck on the capital's Mohamed V Avenue, a ministry official told AFP. An AFP journalist reported seeing the partly burnt out shell of the bus, with police, ambulances, and fire trucks at the scene.
The bomber was identified as Houssem Abdelli, a 28-year-old resident of Tunis. The man's mother identified him from a photograph.
Response
The Tunisian Interior Ministry announced that this was an act of terrorism, using a Semtex explosive traced to Libya. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement, though authorities did not discuss any ties between the bomber and extremist groups.
The group has also claimed responsibility for two attacks in Tunisia earlier in the year, targeting the tourism industry: the Bardo museum attack in March and an attack on a beach resort in Sousse in June.
After the attack, President Beji Caid Essebsi placed Tunis under curfew and resumed a month-long state of emergency. The Tunisian Interior Ministry reported that national security raids had led to the arrest of 40 people with suspected ties to terrorist groups. Among the people arrested were the suspected bomber's sister and mother. The Tunisian government's Security Council shut down Facebook accounts and websites linked to terrorist groups.
See also
- 2015 murders in Tunisia
- 21st century in Tunis
- Arab Winter in Tunisia
- Bus bombings in Africa
- Explosions in 2015
- Explosions in Tunisia
- ISIL terrorist incidents in Tunisia
- Islamic terrorist incidents in 2015
- Mass murder in 2015
- Mass murder in Tunisia
- Murder in Tunis
- November 2015 crimes in Africa
- November 2015 events in Africa
- Suicide bombings in Africa
- Terrorist incidents in Africa in 2015
- Terrorist incidents in Tunisia
- Terrorist incidents in Tunis
- 2015 disasters in Tunisia