The Islamic State (IS) group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying members of Tunisia's presidential guard that left 13 people dead in the centre of Tunis. In a statement posted online, the IS group said a militant it identified as Abu Abdullah al-Tunisi carried out Tuesday's attack. The interior ministry said the 13th body found on the bus by authorities was believed to be the "terrorist who caused the explosion". Ministry officials said the attack had involved about 10kg (22lb) of military explosives. The IS group's involvement, if confirmed, marks the latest of several major attacks in Europe and the Middle East aimed at seeding terror beyond its base in Syria and Iraq. Islamist extremists have become a major challenge for Tunisia, a small North African country that was hailed as a blueprint for democratic change and success story in the region after the Arab Spring uprising in 2011 ousted autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. The country has already suffered two major terror attacks this year. A militant killed 38 foreigners at a beach hotel in June, while gunmen killed 21 tourists at the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March. The IS group claimed responsibility for both attacks. Tuesday's deadly blast came days after authorities visibly increased security in the capital and deployed security forces in unusually high numbers. The government declared the blast a terrorist attack and imposed a 30-day nationwide state of emergency, with troops deployed across the capital. The US state department denounced the attack and the UN security council pledged support for Tunisia's young democracy. Iyad Madani, the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the world's largest bloc of Muslim-majority countries, expressed his solidarity with Tunisia and said such acts of terrorism were seeking to alter the country's "moderation and tolerance-driven model of society".
