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A Militant Group With Ties to ISIS Says It Orchestrated the Tunisia Museum Attack

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Tunisia Museum Attack
Museum-attack hostages are seen after Tunisian Security forces start an operation as gunmen reportedly took hostages at the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015.Ezer Mnasri —Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
By Rishi Iyengar

A terrorist group reportedly affiliated with ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on a museum in Tunisia on March 18 that killed 22 people, mainly foreign tourists.

A purported announcement by the group — Jund al-Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate — was posted on YouTube on Monday as a five-minute audio recording, the New York Times said.

The recording, which was taken down by the site on Tuesday, featured an image of a black banner and the voice of man warning that the attack would not be the last.

“We give you the glad tidings that we are soldiers of the Islamic State in your land — Jund al-Khilafah, soldiers of the Caliph Abu Bakr, may Allah preserve him,” a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group quotes the speaker as saying in Arabic. The speaker is apparently referring to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“Surely, the security of Tunisia will see horror, and surely you will see assassinations and explosions,” he adds. “Two men from among our soldiers immersed and acted against you and your citizens. So what if we send dozens and dozens?”

The recording also contains direct threats to several Tunisian political leaders, including the country’s President Beji Caid Essebsi, Prime Minister Habib Essid, the Defense and Interior Ministers, and members of the army and the national guard.

Essid, meanwhile, announced Sunday that a leading suspect in the attack had been killed in an antiterrorism operation on the border with Algeria.

[NYT]

Witness Scenes From Tunisia Museum Attack

Members of the Tunisian security services take up a position after gunmen reportedly took hostages near the country's parliament, outside the National Bardo Museum, Tunis, March 18, 2015.
Members of the Tunisian security services take up a position after gunmen reportedly took hostages near the country's parliament, outside the Bardo Museum in Tunis, March 18, 2015. Mohamed Messare—EPA
Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked Tunis' famed Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015.
Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015. Fethi Belaid—AFP/Getty Images
Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked Tunis' famed Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015.
Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015.Fethi Belaid—AFP/Getty Images
Tourists and visitors from the Bardo museum are evacuated in Tunis, March 18, 2015.
Tourists and visitors from the Bardo Museum are evacuated in Tunis, March 18, 2015.Hassene Dridi—AP
A victim arrives at the Charles Nicoles hospital, Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Tunis.
A victim arrives at the Charles Nicoles hospital, March 18, 2015 in Tunis.Edel Ezine—AP
A Tunisian security force helicopter flies over the site of an attack carried out by two gunmen at the National Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015 in Tunis.
A Tunisian security force helicopter flies over the site of an attack carried out by two gunmen at the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015.Salah Habibi—AFP/Getty Images

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com