– DOZENS KILLED IN TUNISIAN RESORT TOWN SOUSSE

Published June 26, 2015

At least 27 people were killed after two gunmen attacked, on Friday 06/26/2015, the first Friday of Ramadan, a beach, the Imperial Marhaba hotel and a neighbor hotel in the Tunisian city of Sousse, an interior ministry official told Reuters. At least one of the dead is said to be a gunman shot during the deadly incident, a security source said

Sousse is one of the most popular beach resorts for the country, attracting many tourists every year.

Tunisia has heightened security since the attack on Bardo Museum killed 20 tourists in 03/2015. Tunisia’s Interior Ministry told journalists two gunmen had opened fire on a beach near two hotels in the coastal resort city of Sousse. The number of casualties climbed by the hours to at least 37 people, mostly foreigners, with 36 more injured .

Western tourism is and always was a prime target of Jihadi militants in the Muslim world, especially during the Ramadan.

In a statement released on Twitter by I.S.I.S, the jihadists said the gunman, who they identified as Abu Yahya al-Qayrawani (probably nom du guerre ), was a “soldier of the caliphate” and most of those killed were “subjects of states that make up the crusader alliance fighting the state of the caliphate”.

Authorities , on Saturday 06/27/2015, said most of the victims in Friday’s attack near Sousse were Britons. The gunman was shot dead. Officials say he was a student not previously known to authorities.

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid has announced a clampdown on security after the attack . He said army reservists would be deployed to archaeological sites and resorts and about 80 mosques accused of “spreading venom” will close within a week, he said.

* Abu Yahya al-Qayrawani was identified Seifeddine Rezgui, 22, an aviation engineering student at Kairouan University. Seifeddine Rezgui was disguised as a tourist, socialized with others, then he took out a Kalashnikov rifle from under a beach umbrella and opened fire on the tourists on the beach. He entered the hotel, shooting at every individual. He was later killed by security forces after an exchange of fire. There is suspected to be another armed gunman who partook in the attack.

** Tunisians are the largest volunteers contingent in ISIS estimated as more than 9,000 fighters . Indeed the Tunisian authorities have arrested a group of suspects associated with the attacker .

SEE – SOUSSE SHOOTING INVESTIGATION

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