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| Rare Suicide Bombing in Tunisia Rattles Resort Area | Rare Suicide Bombing in Tunisia Rattles Resort Area |
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| ALGIERS — A rare suicide bombing in a resort area of Tunisia on Wednesday and the apparent thwarting of another exposed the tourism-dependent country’s vulnerability to Islamist extremism. | ALGIERS — A rare suicide bombing in a resort area of Tunisia on Wednesday and the apparent thwarting of another exposed the tourism-dependent country’s vulnerability to Islamist extremism. |
| A man detonated explosives outside a seaside hotel in Sousse in the morning, killing himself but causing no other casualties, the police there said. News agencies reported that another person was caught with explosives in Monastir before they could be detonated. Both towns are popular with vacationers. | A man detonated explosives outside a seaside hotel in Sousse in the morning, killing himself but causing no other casualties, the police there said. News agencies reported that another person was caught with explosives in Monastir before they could be detonated. Both towns are popular with vacationers. |
| A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Mohammed Ali Aroui, confirmed the death of the man in Sousse, whom the police said approached the hotel from the beach but was prevented from entering by security guards. | A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Mohammed Ali Aroui, confirmed the death of the man in Sousse, whom the police said approached the hotel from the beach but was prevented from entering by security guards. |
| The full circumstances of the two incidents were not immediately clear, nor was it clear whether they were linked. | The full circumstances of the two incidents were not immediately clear, nor was it clear whether they were linked. |
| Tunisia has historically been among the more secular of Arab countries, a place where Western tourists have usually felt comfortable. It won widespread sympathy when it led off the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring in 2011, ousting its longtime president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. But since then, it has suffered political tumult, a rise in crime and a resurgence of Islamist-led violence. | |
| An extremist group, Ansar al-Shariah, has attacked the United States Embassy in Tunis and assassinated two leftist politicians this year. Armed militants have also killed soldiers and police officers in sporadic clashes in recent months. Suicide bombings have been uncommon, though not unknown. | An extremist group, Ansar al-Shariah, has attacked the United States Embassy in Tunis and assassinated two leftist politicians this year. Armed militants have also killed soldiers and police officers in sporadic clashes in recent months. Suicide bombings have been uncommon, though not unknown. |
| Tunisia suffered a devastating suicide attack in 2002 aimed at a historic synagogue on the island of Djerba, the jewel of Tunisia’s Mediterranean resorts. That attack, which killed 21 people, most of them European tourists, was carried out by Tunisians who had fought in Afghanistan and were linked to Al Qaeda. It prompted Mr. Ben Ali’s government to introduce harsh antiterrorism laws and to crack down on Islamist groups. After Mr. Ben Ali was overthrown, leaders of the group that mounted the Djerba attack were among hundreds of prisoners freed, and the group is active again. | Tunisia suffered a devastating suicide attack in 2002 aimed at a historic synagogue on the island of Djerba, the jewel of Tunisia’s Mediterranean resorts. That attack, which killed 21 people, most of them European tourists, was carried out by Tunisians who had fought in Afghanistan and were linked to Al Qaeda. It prompted Mr. Ben Ali’s government to introduce harsh antiterrorism laws and to crack down on Islamist groups. After Mr. Ben Ali was overthrown, leaders of the group that mounted the Djerba attack were among hundreds of prisoners freed, and the group is active again. |
| Although Islamist-inspired violence remains low-level and sporadic in Tunisia, the prospect of suicide bombings comes at a sensitive political time in the country. The elected, Islamist-led government and opposition parties, after months of squabbling and recrimination, are thought to be close to agreeing on a new constitution and electoral law, in preparation for fresh elections. | Although Islamist-inspired violence remains low-level and sporadic in Tunisia, the prospect of suicide bombings comes at a sensitive political time in the country. The elected, Islamist-led government and opposition parties, after months of squabbling and recrimination, are thought to be close to agreeing on a new constitution and electoral law, in preparation for fresh elections. |