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Tunisia Dragged Into 'War on Terror' After Museum Massacre

© AP Photo / Salah Ben MahmoudEscorted by security forces, rescue workers pull an empty stretcher outside the Bardo museum Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Tunis
Escorted by security forces, rescue workers pull an empty stretcher outside the Bardo museum Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Tunis - Sputnik International
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Tunisian President Beij Caid Essebsi declared that his country is in a "war with terrorism" after militants killed 21 people and wounded over 40 in an attack at a museum in the capital Tunis, the BBC reported Thursday.

Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked Tunis' famed Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
United States to Offer Tunisia Assistance in Museum Attack Investigation
MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Wednesday a group of terrorists, dressed in military uniform, opened fire on visitors to the National Bardo Museum in Tunis. The country's security forces surrounded the museum and killed two terrorists after a two-hour standoff. Other gunmen have fled.

"I want the Tunisian people to understand that we are in a war against terrorism and that these savage minorities do not frighten us," Essebsi said after a visit to the hospital where the wounded were being treated.

Three Tunisians and 18 foreign tourists, including from France, Italy, Japan and Colombia, were killed, the BBC said, citing the Tunisian government's figures.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday that the European Union would "fully support Tunisia in the fight against terrorism." EU officials blamed the Islamic State (ISIL) for committing the attack.

Tunisian security forces secure the area after gunmen attacked Tunis' famed Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
Africa
Russia Condemns 'Barbaric' Terrorist Attack in Tunisia

According to Al Jazeera, the attack was the jihadist militant groups' attempt to destabilize Tunisia that is considered as the only successful example of democratic transition followed 2011 Arab Spring.

The country has been hit by several terrorist attacks in recent years. In 2002, 19 people died in a bomb blast at a synagogue in the resort of Djerba. In February, about 20 al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked a mountain checkpoint in Tunisia and killed four policemen.

According the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 Tunisians are among the estimated 20,000 foreign fighters who have joined militant groups in Iraq and Syria.

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