On 24 November 2015, a bus carrying Tunisian presidential guards exploded, killing 12, on a principal road in Tunis, Tunisia.[3][4]ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.[5][6] The bomber, who also died in the attack, was identified as Houssem Abdelli.[1]
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.[7]
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.[8]
The bomber was identified as Houssem Abdelli, a 28-year-old resident of Tunis.[1][9] The man's mother identified him from a photograph.[9]
Response
The Tunisian Interior Ministry announced that this was an act of terrorism,[10] using a Semtex explosive traced to Libya.[11] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement,[12] though authorities did not discuss any ties between the bomber and extremist groups.[1]
After the attack, President Beji Caid Essebsi placed Tunis under curfew and resumed a month-long state of emergency.[13] The Tunisian Interior Ministry reported that national security raids had led to the arrest of 40 people with suspected ties to terrorist groups.[9] Among the people arrested were the suspected bomber's sister and mother.[14] The Tunisian government's Security Council shut down Facebook accounts and websites linked to terrorist groups.[9]
