We will not rest until the law of God governs in Tunis, says 'IS' statement
The so-called 'Islamic State' group has claimed responsibility for a bus attack in Tunisia which killed at least 13 people.
In a statement posted online today, the group said a militant it identified as Abu Abdullah al-Tunisi carried out the attack in the capital Tunis after infiltrating the bus.
The statement said the “tyrants of Tunis will not have peace and we will not rest until the law of God governs in Tunis”.
The bus was carrying members of Tunisia’s presidential guard.
#TunisAttack - Presidential guards mourn for their comrades killed in a bomb blast in #Tunis. By Fethi Belaid #AFP pic.twitter.com/oMXv5D6kt1
— Christophe Delattre (@chrisdelattre7) November 25, 2015
The president has declared a month-long state of emergency.
The body of a suspected suicide bomber has been found at the scene of the attack.
The attack on the bus involved about 10 kilograms of military explosives, the interior ministry said.
Tunisian authorities discovered the body of a 13th person in the bus today, believed to be the “terrorist who caused the explosion”, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Ministry spokesman Walid Louguini said the body could not be identified by fingerprints because no fingers were found. The ministry said a DNA analysis of the body is underway.
The 'Islamic State' statement identified the attacker, saying that he killed around 20 “apostates”.
If 'Islamic State' was indeed behind it, it is the latest of several major attacks in Europe and the Middle East – well beyond the group’s base in Syria and Iraq.
The blast on a tree-lined avenue in the heart of Tunis is a new blow to a country that is seen as a democratic model for the region.
It came days after authorities visibly increased security in the capital and deployed security forces in unusually high numbers.
Earlier this year, the country suffered two major attacks by Islamic extremists that targeted tourist sites.
