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| Tunisia Declares State of Emergency After Explosion on Bus | Tunisia Declares State of Emergency After Explosion on Bus |
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| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 militant attacks. | |
| Tunisia, a country of just 11 million people, has also been shaken as thousands of its citizens have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State extremist group. The exodus, mostly of young men, has confounded policy-makers and earned Tunisia the unwanted distinction as a wellspring of regional extremism. | |
| The violence has shaped Tunisia’s emerging political order as well. Ennahda, the country’s main Islamist party, won Tunisia’s first legislative elections after the uprising but faced public criticism for failing to curb the militants. | |
| Mr. Essebsi, who served as interior minister under the old autocratic government, rose to the presidency pledging a crackdown on extremists and greater stability. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| The attacks have undermined the government’s promise of stability, at a time when some are warning that the violence will prompt the authorities to overreact and curb citizens’ rights. | |
| “We’re going into this war with everything we have,” Mr. Essebsi said in a televised address after the explosion. “Victory will be always be on Tunisia’s side.” | |
| 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. | 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. Reuters, citing unnamed government and security officials, said the presidential guards had been boarding the bus at the time of the explosion, which was probably caused by a suicide bomber. |