A young man unfurled an umbrella and pulled out a Kalashnikov, opening fire on European sunbathers in an attack that killed at least 37 people at a Tunisian beach resort – one of three deadly attacks from Europe to the Middle East on Friday that followed a call to violence by Islamic State extremists.
The killings in the Tunisian resort of Sousse happened at about the same time as a bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in Kuwait and an attack on a US-owned factory in France that included a beheading. It was unclear if the violence was linked, but it came days after the IS militants urged their followers “to make Ramadan a month of calamities for the non-believers”. In all, at least 45 people were killed.
Tunisia will shut down about 80 mosques accused of inciting violence, Prime Minister Habib Essid has said. Tunisians, Britons, Germans, Belgians, French and at least one Irish citizen were among those killed in the attack, claimed by Islamic State (IS). The gunman was shot dead by police. Officials say he was a student not previously known to authorities.
The attack in Tunisia, the country’s worst to date, comes just months after the March 18 assault on the national museum in Tunis that killed 22 people, again mostly tourists, and has called into question the newly elected government’s ability to protect the country.
