Tunisian president declares state of emergency after bus bombing

Curfew in place in capital Tunis where attack on vehicle carrying presidential guards near French embassy leaves at least dozen people dead.

Tunisia’s president has declared a state of emergency throughout the country and a curfew in the capital after an attack on a bus carrying his presidential guard that killed at least 12 people.

Police and rescue forces at the scene of an explosion in Tunis where members of the Tunisian presidential security service were killed when an explosion hit their bus. Photograph: Mohamed Messara

Beji Caid Essebsi, who was not on the bus when it was hit by an explosion on Tuesday in the centre of Tunis, said in a televised address the country was at war against terrorism and called for international cooperation against extremists who have staged several attacks across the world in recent weeks. “I want to reassure the Tunisian people that we will vanquish terrorism,” he added.


The bomb exploded shortly before 5pm on Avenue Mohamed V, near the 7 November clock tower, a city landmark. One witness said the target was parked on the street close to Avenue Habib Bourguiba, where the heavily guarded interior ministry and French embassy are based. The ministry said 16 people were wounded.
The area was cordoned off by police and emergency vehicles. The bombing, the first in the Tunisian capital this year, comes as the country is on high alert against attacks by Islamic State.

In June, 38 tourists were killed by a gunman at the Sousse beach resort. The attack, which followed the killing of 21 people by two gunmen at the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, led to most tourists leaving the country and the government imposing a state of emergency.

Earlier this month, a group allied to Isis claimed responsibility for the murder of a 16-year-old shepherd, Mabrouk Soltani, in the southern Jebel Mghila mountains. A video posted bythe Jund al-Khilafa group claimed the teenager was an army informer.

Last week, Tunisia said it had broken a terrorist network, making 17 arrests and foiling a campaign of “major attacks” that militants had been planning for this month, aimed at the Sousse resort as well as politicians, security targets and landmarks.