Suicide bomber attacks Tunisian resort

Originally published on October 31, 2013

A suicide bomber blew himself up on a beach in the Tunisian town of Sousse on Wednesday, while another bomber was captured in the seaside town of Monastir before his device detonated.

The attack was the first such attack in more than a decade in Tunisia, where Islamist extremism is on the rise boosted by chaos in neighboring Libya.

According to the BBC, the blast occurred at 9:45 a.m. local time on a beach in front of the Riadh Palms Hotel.

The bomber was wearing an explosive belt. He tried to enter the hotel, but when turned away he ran back to the beach and detonated the device.

The bomber died at the scene. No one else was injured.

A separate bomb plot in Monastir targeting ex-President Habib Bourguiba's tomb was foiled by police.

Together with the would-be suicide bomber, police detained other five people in Sousse thought to be plotting other attacks.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but according to Reuters the Islamist-led government said the men arrested admitted to being members of the militant Ansar al-Sharia movement, which it says to be linked to al Qaeda's North Africa affiliate.

According to Reuters, "The bombing is bad news for the vital tourism industry in Tunisia, which attracted 5.8 million mostly European visitors to its Mediterranean beaches and desert tours in 2012."

"We don't know the consequences right now..." said Mohamed Ali Toumi, head of Tunisia's federation of travel agencies. "Whatever happens it will be negative because this is the first time they attack a hotel."

Tunisia has seen a rise in militants' attack since the 2011 uprising, which unseated long-time President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

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