This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/world/africa/gunman-at-tunisian-beach-hotel-trained-with-museum-attackers.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Gunman at Tunisian Beach Hotel Trained With Museum Attackers Gunman at Tunisian Beach Hotel Trained With Museum Attackers
(35 minutes later)
TUNIS — The gunman who massacred 38 foreign tourists at a beachside hotel on Friday trained with a militant group in Libya this year alongside two Tunisians who later killed 22 people at the national museum, security officials confirmed on Tuesday. TUNIS — The gunman who massacred 38 foreign tourists at a beachside hotel on Friday trained with a militant group in Libya earlier this year alongside two Tunisians who later killed 22 people at the national museum, security officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Rafik Chelli, secretary of state for the interior, told The Associated Press that the gunman at the hotel, Seifeddine Rezgui, 24, a graduate of a technical college from central Tunisia, crossed illegally into neighboring Libya in January and trained with an extremist group near the town of Sabratha in northwestern Libya, near the capital, Tripoli. Rafik Chelli, secretary of state for the interior, told The Associated Press that the gunman at the hotel, Seifeddine Rezgui, 24, a graduate of a technical college from central Tunisia, crossed illegally into neighboring Libya in January and trained with an extremist group near the town of Sabratha, in northwestern Libya, near the capital, Tripoli.
Tunisian officials have said that the two gunmen who attacked the National Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, killing 21 tourists and a police officer, also crossed clandestinely into Libya for several weeks of training. Mr. Chelli confirmed that they and Mr. Rezgui had been there at the same time. The gunmen at the museum were killed by security forces.Tunisian officials have said that the two gunmen who attacked the National Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, killing 21 tourists and a police officer, also crossed clandestinely into Libya for several weeks of training. Mr. Chelli confirmed that they and Mr. Rezgui had been there at the same time. The gunmen at the museum were killed by security forces.
The information was first reported on Monday in the popular daily El Chourouk, which quoted an anonymous source. Police officials in Kairouan, home to the college where Mr. Rezgui studied, said on Monday that he had trained for two years in Libya, but it was not clear whether they had specific information or were repeating news reports. The news that Mr. Rezgui trained in Libya was first reported on Monday in the popular daily El Chourouk, which quoted an anonymous source. Police officials in Kairouan, the city that is home to the college where Mr. Rezgui studied, said on Monday that he had trained for two years in Libya, but it was not clear whether they had specific information or were repeating news reports.
Mr. Rezgui opened fire on vacationers on their lounge chairs at the beach resort hotel in Sousse, then stalked through the hotel complex with a silent purposefulness for about 30 minutes, reloading his assault rifle several times and tossing several grenades, officials and witnesses say. He then walked away on the beach and slipped onto a side street, where the police fatally shot him. Mr. Rezgui opened fire on vacationers on their lounge chairs at the beach resort hotel in Sousse, then strode through the hotel complex with a silent purposefulness for about 30 minutes, reloading his assault rifle several times and tossing several grenades, officials and witnesses say. He then walked away on the beach and slipped onto a side street, where the police fatally shot him.
On the day of the attack, Tunisian officials and the state news agency put the death toll at 39, but the state news agency revised its total to 38 on Tuesday. An additional 39 people were wounded.On the day of the attack, Tunisian officials and the state news agency put the death toll at 39, but the state news agency revised its total to 38 on Tuesday. An additional 39 people were wounded.
Prime Minister Habib Essid has described Mr. Rezgui as a lone-wolf attacker and indicated that he had no police record. He was issued a passport last year but had not used it to travel abroad, Mr. Essid said. Though not aimed specifically at Britons, Friday’s attack on the hotel complex was Britain’s worst loss of life in a terrorist attack since the July 2005 London bombings. On Friday, a week after the killings, there will be a minute of silence at noon in Britain and flags will fly at half-staff.
Tunisia’s long border with Libya, much of it desert, is notoriously porous and easily crossed by smugglers and militants. Tunisians seeking to fight in Syria and Iraq often cross the border to Libya illegally and join militant groups there. Of the 33 victims identified so far, 25 were Britons, one was Belgian, two German, three Irish, one Portuguese and one Russian, the state news agency reported on Tuesday. Two foreign tourists remain hospitalized in Tunisia. British officials have said they expect the number of British victims to rise to 30.
The outlawed Tunisian extremist group Ansar al-Shariah is known to have a training base for Tunisians near Sabratha, a site of ancient Roman ruins. Four of the most seriously wounded were flown back to Britain on Tuesday by the Royal Air Force, and officials said all of the seriously wounded were now being treated in Britain. The bodies of the dead are expected to be flown back on Wednesday.
Thirty-three tourists killed in the attack have been identified so far, including 25 Britons, one Belgian, two Germans, three Irish citizens, one person from Portugal and one from Russia, the state news agency reported. Two foreign tourists remain hospitalized. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain has promised a “full spectrum” response to the Tunisian attacks and to the threat of radical Islam in Britain. On Monday, he called militant Islamist ideology an “existential threat” and said Britain was confronting “the struggle of our generation.”
On Tuesday, Britain began a major counterterrorism exercise in London, planned before the Tunisian killings, based on the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris in January and a hostage-taking in Sydney, Australia, last December. The exercise is meant to test emergency responses from police and medical services and is being held in an unused London Underground station in the West End theater district.
As further tales of horror and heroism emerged from survivors — including descriptions of the efforts of hotel employees and ordinary Tunisians to protect the tourists and to help them — British tourists were cutting short or canceling their vacations in Tunisia. At least 4,000 Britons had flown home since the attack, according to officials of the Thomson and First Choice tour companies.
Prime Minister Habib Essid of Tunisia has described Mr. Rezgui as a lone-wolf attacker and has indicated that he had no police record. He was issued a passport last year but had not used it to travel abroad, Mr. Essid said.
Tunisia’s long border with Libya, much of it desert, is notoriously porous and easily crossed by smugglers and militants. Tunisians seeking to fight in Syria and Iraq often illegally cross the border to Libya and join militant groups there.
The outlawed Tunisian extremist group Ansar al-Shariah is known to have a training base for Tunisians near Sabratha, the site of ancient Roman ruins.