Tunisia declares state of emergency after bombing

President Beji Caid Essibsi reimposed a state of emergency on Tuesday night in the wake of the attack.

The Tunisian Interior Ministry said it had found the remains of a 13th unidentified person who was the suspected “terrorist who caused the explosion”.

Security and presidential sources said the explosion was an attack, adding it was not immediately clear whether it was a bomb or an explosive fired at the bus.

The statement said a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest on the bus.

The Islamic State group issued a statement posted online Wednesday saying a militant it identified as Abu Abdullah al-Tunisi carried out the attack after infiltrating the bus and killing around 20 “apostates”. ISIL claimed responsibility for both attacks.

In its statement, the Nobel Committee paid homage to Tunisia’s successes in the aftermath of the Jasmine Revolution, but also acknowledged that the country still “faces significant political, economic, and security challenges”. The string of attacks has greatly threatened the country’s reputation, however, not least because tourism is a key component of the economy.

Prime Minister Habib Essid and Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli visited the scene of the blast.

The explosion occurred Tuesday on the main avenue in Tunis.

Mr Louguini could not confirm or deny Tunisian reports that the body could be that of a suicide bomber who jumped on to the bus just before the bomb exploded.

Tunisia, a country of about 11 million people, has also been shaken as thousands of its citizens have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“For years this place has been our gathering point but they didn’t think to change it although we are the first to be targeted”, one guard said of the site of the bombing.

The attack shows a different trend as well as a strong warning to the Tunisian authorities, indicating that they need to tighten security within the state in order to effectively combat the Islamic State which has recorded an influx of over 2,000 Tunisians so far.

The United Nations experts have called on the Tunisian Government to draw up a strategy to fight back and prevent Isis from recruiting its vulnerable youngsters. “I am not scared – we are courageous people – but people are sad”, she said.

One of the most secular Arab countries, Tunisia has enjoyed relative stability since its uprising compared with neighbours Libya and Egypt. It has a new constitution, held free elections and established compromise politics between secular and Islamist parties that has allowed some progress.