A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Tunisian tourist resort of Sousse on Wednesday, the first such assault since 2002 in a country now battling Islamist militants boosted by chaos in neighbouring Libya. Police foiled another attack when they arrested a would-be suicide bomber at former President Habib Bourguiba's tomb in the seaside town of Monastir, security sources said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamist-led government is combating Ansar al-Sharia militants who it says are linked to al Qaeda's North Africa affiliate.
"The two suicide bombers are radical Islamist jihadists. They are Tunisians, but they had been in a neighbouring country," said Interior Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Aroui, without specifying which country. The first bomber had sought to enter the Riadh Palms Hotel with a suitcase. Turned away, he ran onto the beach and blew himself up, a security source said. No one else was hurt. 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.