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Blast in Tunis Kills at Least 11 on Bus Carrying Presidential Guards Tunisia Declares State of Emergency After Explosion on Bus
(about 3 hours later)
TUNIS — At least 11 people were killed and 14 injured here on Tuesday afternoon by an explosion that heavily damaged a bus carrying members of the president’s security guard, according to two local radio stations, Radio Mosaïque FM and Shems FM. TUNIS — An explosion tore through a bus carrying members of the president’s security guard through the heart of Tunisia’s capital on Tuesday evening, killing at least 12 people and prompting the president to declare a 30-day state of emergency.
President Béji Caïd Essebsi was not near the site of the explosion, officials said. In a statement, President Béji Caïd Essebsi, who was not near the site of the explosion, called the blast a “cowardly terrorist attack.” He canceled a scheduled trip to Switzerland and announced a nightly curfew beginning at 9 p.m. The Tunis airport and tourist sites were closed after the explosion, according to news media reports.
The blast occurred on Mohammed V Avenue, near the clock tower, a landmark in Tunis that is close to the Ministry of the Interior, the radio stations quoted a spokesman from the ministry as saying. Mr. Essebsi said that in addition to the dead, 20 members of the presidential guard had been injured. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was caused by a bomb, or an explosive fired at the bus. While Tunisia has suffered low-level attacks on security forces and police officers around the country, the explosion on Tuesday was the first serious attack on security forces in the capital since jihadists began a campaign of violence in 2011. The blast was the third major attack by militants in Tunisia this year, and the first serious assault on the security forces in Tunis since jihadists began a campaign of violence in 2011. It occurred on Mohammed V Avenue, near Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the city’s storied commercial thoroughfare and the location of the headquarters of the ministries of interior and tourism, along with other important landmarks.
In the wake of recent deadly attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Beirut, Lebanon, and Paris, the Tunisian authorities had increased the security level in the capital 10 days ago and deployed soldiers and police officers to patrol the city. After the uprising in 2011 that toppled the country’s dictatorship, Tunisia defied the civil strife that took hold in countries throughout the region, including war-torn Libya. But its transition to democracy has been threatened repeatedly by political violence, including assassinations of prominent figures and mass killings carried out by militants.
The Islamic State has been associated with two deadly attacks in Tunisia this year: one in March at the Bardo National Museum, which killed 22 people, and one in June on a beach in Sousse, which killed 38 people, including 30 British tourists. The Islamic State has been associated with two deadly attacks in Tunisia this year: one in March at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, which killed 22 people, and one in June at a beach hotel in Sousse, which killed 38 people, including 30 British tourists.
After the recent deadly attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Paris and Beirut, Lebanon, the Tunisian authorities increased the security level in the capital 10 days ago and deployed soldiers and police officers to patrol the city.
It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or by an explosive fired at the bus. Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion and then saw the bus engulfed in flames.