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Tunis museum attacks: police hunt third suspect in shootings Tunis museum attacks: police hunt third suspect in shootings
(about 1 hour later)
Tunisia’s president says a third gunman was involved in last week’s attack on the Bardot museum that left 23 dead, as CCTV footage was released showing the gunmen stalking victims in the museum. Tunisia’s president says a third gunman was involved in last week’s attack on the Bardo museum that left 23 dead, as CCTV footage was released showing the gunmen stalking victims in the museum.
Beji Caid Essebsi said in an interview with French television that the attacker, as yet unnamed, was “on the run”.Beji Caid Essebsi said in an interview with French television that the attacker, as yet unnamed, was “on the run”.
A manhunt is in progress, with police patrols in Tunis stopping people to check identities. The mood is calm, the capital’s streets bedecked with red and white Tunisian flags after muted independence day celebrations on Friday.A manhunt is in progress, with police patrols in Tunis stopping people to check identities. The mood is calm, the capital’s streets bedecked with red and white Tunisian flags after muted independence day celebrations on Friday.
Authorities have released a photograph of the man they say helped travel agent Yassin Labidi, 20, and accomplice Saber Khachnaou, 26, carry out the attack that left 23 dead, including 19 foreigners. Authorities have released a photograph of the man they say helped travel agent Yassine Laabidi, 20, and accomplice Hatem Khachnaoui, 26, carry out the attack that left 23 dead, including 19 foreigners.
The interior ministry released CCTV footage showing the gunmen inside the museum, which is adjacent to Tunisia’s parliament, stalking its halls for victims.The interior ministry released CCTV footage showing the gunmen inside the museum, which is adjacent to Tunisia’s parliament, stalking its halls for victims.
The minute-long video shows the men, holding machine guns, moving around the marble halls, showing no sign of tension, minutes after they opened fire on tourist buses outside the museum entrance.The minute-long video shows the men, holding machine guns, moving around the marble halls, showing no sign of tension, minutes after they opened fire on tourist buses outside the museum entrance.
The men, one in a red hat and tracksuit bottoms, the other with a baseball cap and jacket, are seen bumping into a third man with a backpack walking down the stairs. After acknowledging him, the gunmen allow him to walk free. It is unclear if this is a lucky escape, or evidence of the third suspect that police are hunting.The men, one in a red hat and tracksuit bottoms, the other with a baseball cap and jacket, are seen bumping into a third man with a backpack walking down the stairs. After acknowledging him, the gunmen allow him to walk free. It is unclear if this is a lucky escape, or evidence of the third suspect that police are hunting.
Police had announced the arrest of 20 people suspected of helping the gunmen, who, they said on Friday, had been trained at terrorist camps in neighbouring Libya.Police had announced the arrest of 20 people suspected of helping the gunmen, who, they said on Friday, had been trained at terrorist camps in neighbouring Libya.
Meanwhile, the task of identifying and repatriating the bodies of 19 foreign tourists continues. The bodies of four Italians were returning to Italy on Sunday. The bodies of 14 foreigners remain in the morgue, with the victims including citizens from Britain, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and Spain. Three Tunisians died in the attack, in which the gunmen opened fire on tourist buses before blasting their way into the museum, killing and wounding dozens more. The Tunisian police dragnet for jihadis already has plenty of leads. The Bardo museum attack came just as police were marking a major success, announcing last Monday that they had broken four terror cells recruiting jihadis to send to Libya.
A total of 22 people were arrested in the terror cells, based in Kairouan, 114 miles south of the capital, with 10 more jihadis captured en route to Libya. The seizure of dozens of mobile phones of the terrorists, along with stashes of weapons, led to hopes that more members would be quickly tracked down.
More than 400 suspects have been rounded up by security forces across the country, with the interior ministry saying on Friday that one of the Bardo museum attackers was already known to the authorities, and that both men had gone to Libya for terrorism training late last year, returning two months later.
Working against the police are the sheer numbers of Tunisian jihadis that need tracking, with a pipeline of fighters both leaving and returning. An estimated 4,000 have gone to join Isis in Syria, Iraq and latterly Libya, with several hundred since returning home.
Meanwhile, the task of identifying and repatriating the bodies of 19 foreign tourists continues. The bodies of four Italians were return ed to Italy on Sunday. The bodies of 14 foreigners remain in the morgue, with the victims including citizens from Britain, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and Spain. One Tunisian, apart from the two gunmen, died in the attack, in which the gunmen opened fire on tourist buses before blasting their way into the museum, killing and wounding dozens more.