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Authorities Identify Suicide Bomber In Deadly Tunisia Bus Attack

The Tunisian Interior ministry identified the suicide bomber in Tuesday's bus attack as a 27-year-old Tunisian man named Houssam Abdelli.

The Interior Ministry released a statement Thursday:

"The final biological analyses carried out by the services of the technical and scientific police services proved that the body of the terrorist who blew up the bus of the presidential guard 24 November 2015 is that of "Houssam ben Hedi Ben Miled Abdelli", born December 10, 1988, résident Daouar Hicher in Manouba, day labourer (itinerant vendor) holds a national identity card No. 09168137."

The explosion at a bus stop in the capital city of Tunis killed 12 people. On Wednesday, ISIS claimed responsibility in a message on social media, according to the BBC.

NPR's Leila Fadel reports that the Interior Minister says it has carried out hundreds of raids and arrested more than 30 people in the wake of the attack.

As we previously reported, this is the third terrorist attack the country has suffered this year. In March, militants opened fire on tourists inside the Bardo Museum, killing 24 people. And in June, a lone gunman killed more than three dozen tourists at a beach resort north of Sousse.

After Tuesday's attack, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi issued a state of emergency for the North African country, set to last for 30 days.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laura Wagner