The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia. The group has posted a photo of the gunmen it says carried out the shooting spree, identifying him as Abu Yahya al Qayrawani.
The Islamic State’s photo of al Qayrawani can be seen above.
The death toll has steadily risen, with Tunisian authorities now saying that at least 38 people were killed. “The nationalities of the killed, most of them are British, German, and French, this is the 95% of them,” Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid told the press, according to CNN. “The majority of them are British, then the second in number were German, then third in numbers were French.”
In addition, at least one Irish citizen was among the victims and dozens of others were wounded.
In terms of casualties, the shooting spree in Sousse is the jihadists’ most devastating attack in Tunisia. And it demonstrates the damage a lone gunmen can do using nothing more than an AK-47 or other small arms.
In June 2002, an al Qaeda suicide bomber attack a Tunisian synagogue, killing 19 people, including 14 Germans, 1 French citizen, and 4 Tunisians.
In March of this year, 22 people were killed by two gunmen at the Bardo Museum in Tunis. Twenty of the victims were foreign tourists. The Bardo Museum assault was quickly claimed by the Islamic State, although Tunisian authorities have also blamed the Uqba Ibn Nafi Brigade, which is part of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the killings in Sousse was issued in the same format as past statements, with a red banner, a blue body and white text.
The message can be seen on the right.
A similar message was issued by the group claiming responsibility for yesterday’s suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City. At least 27 people were killed in the bombing, and the Kuwaiti government says that 227 more were wounded.
The Islamic State portrays al Qayrawani as a “soldier of the Caliphate,” saying that he purposely gunned down citizens who belong to the “Crusader coalition.”
Thus far, there has been no claim of responsibility for yesterday’s attack on the Air Products facility near Lyon, France. One man was beheaded and others wounded. French authorities have identified the terrorist responsible as Yassin Sahli, a local deliveryman who was previously placed under surveillance due to his suspected ties to “radical Islamists.”
