Tunis - As Tunisian authorities step up the hunt for three suspects linked to the attack on the national museum
on Wednesday, security analysts say the incident is a blow to the
country's political transiton process and an already deteriorating
economy.
The latest death toll, according to Tunisian health ministry figures, puts the number at 19 people killed, including 17 foriegn tourists and the two assailants. Over 40 others were injured, some seriously, in a hostage situation inside the museum that lasted for more than three hours.
On Thursday, Tunisian daily al-Chorouq said the attackers were identified and both were Tunisians. Recently, the family of one of the attackers reported to authorities that he called from Iraq a few months after he disappeared.
The assault on the museum is the first to involve a high number of civilian causalities since a 2002 bomb attack, carried out by an al-Qaeda offshoot, targeted tourists at a Jewish synagogue on the Island of Djerba.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, so far, politicians and security analysts say the attack was a long time coming.
"The extremist groups, especially those inspired by ISIL, have been saying they were going to do something like this, and now they have," said Youssef Cherif, a Tunisian political analyst.
He added that the attack "was clearly an assault on Tunisia's political transition and economy" and is connected to regional instability.
"These groups do not accept the fact that there will be a democracy in this country."
The latest death toll, according to Tunisian health ministry figures, puts the number at 19 people killed, including 17 foriegn tourists and the two assailants. Over 40 others were injured, some seriously, in a hostage situation inside the museum that lasted for more than three hours.
On Thursday, Tunisian daily al-Chorouq said the attackers were identified and both were Tunisians. Recently, the family of one of the attackers reported to authorities that he called from Iraq a few months after he disappeared.
The assault on the museum is the first to involve a high number of civilian causalities since a 2002 bomb attack, carried out by an al-Qaeda offshoot, targeted tourists at a Jewish synagogue on the Island of Djerba.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, so far, politicians and security analysts say the attack was a long time coming.
"The extremist groups, especially those inspired by ISIL, have been saying they were going to do something like this, and now they have," said Youssef Cherif, a Tunisian political analyst.
He added that the attack "was clearly an assault on Tunisia's political transition and economy" and is connected to regional instability.
"These groups do not accept the fact that there will be a democracy in this country."