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Source: Tunisia Hotel Attacker in Contact With Militants in Libya


This image taken from a militant website associated with Islamic State extremists, posted Saturday, June 27, 2015, purports to show Tunisian gunman Saif Rezgui.
This image taken from a militant website associated with Islamic State extremists, posted Saturday, June 27, 2015, purports to show Tunisian gunman Saif Rezgui.

The gunman who killed 39 people in a Tunisian beach hotel attack last week was in contact with militants in Libya and likely received training there, an official source said on Tuesday.

Saif Rezgui, disguised as a tourist, opened fire at the Imperial Marhaba hotel in the resort town of Sousse on Friday in the worst militant assault of its kind in modern Tunisian history. Most of the dead were British.

"Investigations show Saif Rezgui was in contact with terrorists in Libya and he likely trained in a Libyan camp," an official source told Reuters.

Rezgui was shot dead by police.

People, some displaying a Tunisian flag, stand in silence next to flowers during a gathering at the scene of the attack in Sousse, Tunisia, June 28, 2015.
People, some displaying a Tunisian flag, stand in silence next to flowers during a gathering at the scene of the attack in Sousse, Tunisia, June 28, 2015.

​Tunisian authorities have arrested a group of suspects associated with him, the interior minister said on Monday without giving a number or details on links.

"Police arrested three Tunisians who were involved in planning the attack with Rezgui," the source said.

Libya, caught in a conflict between two rival governments, has become a haven for Islamist militants who have used the lack of security to extend their influence there.

Thousands of tourists have left Tunisia since Friday's attack, an economic blow to a country which that relies heavily on tourism for jobs and foreign currency revenues.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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