TUNISIA-SECURITY/OFFICER FUNERAL UPDATE Burial held for policeman killed in Tunis museum attack
Record ID:
230313
TUNISIA-SECURITY/OFFICER FUNERAL UPDATE Burial held for policeman killed in Tunis museum attack
- Title: TUNISIA-SECURITY/OFFICER FUNERAL UPDATE Burial held for policeman killed in Tunis museum attack
- Date: 19th March 2015
- Summary: TUNIS, TUNISIA (MARCH 19, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE THE CEMETERY WHERE BURIAL FOR THE POLICEMAN KILLED IN MUSEUM ATTACK TAKES PLACE TOWER PEOPLE GATHERED AT BURIAL SITE TUNISIAN INTERIOR MINISTER, NAJEM GHARSALLI (IN SUNGLASSES) AT BURIAL SITE COFFIN OF POLICEMAN KILLED IN MUSEUM ATTACK ARRIVING VARIOUS OF GUN SALUTE PEOPLE GATHERED NEAR BURIAL SITE / MAN IN CROWD HOLDING TUNISIAN FLAG
- Embargoed: 3rd April 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Tunisia
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA25F7PDPQHKEM6DWJK577PKIUE
- Story Text: A burial ceremony was held on Thursday (March 19) for the police officer killed when militant gunmen attacked the national Bardo museum, killing 20 foreign tourists.
State officials, including Tunisian Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli, along with police officers and family members were present as the police officer's coffin, draped with the national flag, arrived at the cemetery for burial in the country's capital.
Aymen Morjane was killed when two militants opened fire on two tourist buses during a visit to the museum inside Tunisia's heavily guarded parliament compound.
Tunisia said it would deploy the army to major cities and arrested nine people on Thursday after the museum attack, which Islamic State called "the first drop of the rain".
Officials did not confirm the militants' claim of responsibility, but said they had identified the two gunmen shot dead by security forces in the assault on Bardo museum.
Japanese, Italian, Spanish and British visitors, as well as three Tunisians, were among the victims. Cruise liner MSC Cruises said 12 of its passengers, including Colombians, French and a Belgian, were among the dead, while a Spanish couple was found alive on Thursday after hiding all night in the museum.
The assault - the most deadly attack involving foreigners in Tunisia since a 2002 suicide bombing in Djerba - came at a fragile moment for a country just emerging to full democracy after its pioneering popular uprising four years ago.
It is heavily reliant on foreign tourists to its beach resorts and desert treks, and the government was about to tackle politically sensitive reforms aimed at boosting economic growth.
Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria and is active in Tunisia's chaotic neighbour Libya, praised the two attackers in an audio recording in Arabic, calling them "knights of the Islamic State" armed with machineguns and bombs.
Tunisians make up the one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters in Syria, Iraq and Libya, and their homeland's young democracy, which has cracked down on militancy at home, was a clear potential target. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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