| 2015 Tunis bombing | |
| Location: | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Target: | Presidential escorts |
| Date: | 24 November 2015 |
| Partof: | ISIL insurgency in Tunisia |
| Type: | Suicide bombing |
| Fatalities: | 14 (including the perpetrator)[1] |
| Injuries: | 16 |
| Perp: | Houssem Abdelli |
| Perpetrators: | Houssem Abdelli |
| Weapon: | Semtex explosive belt |
On 24 November 2015, a bus carrying Tunisian presidential guards exploded, killing 12, on a principal road in Tunis, Tunisia.[2] [3] ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.[4] [5] The bomber, who also died in the attack, was identified as Houssem Abdelli.[6]
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.[6] [9] The man's mother identified him from a photograph.[9]
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.[6]
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.[13]
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]