Tunis bombing: Local street vendor identified as Islamic State suicide jihadist

A suicide bomber who killed 12 people in an Islamist attack in Tunis has been identified as a local street vendor. Tunisian authorities said 27-year-old Houssam ben Hedi ben Miled Abdelli blew himself up on a bus carrying members of the presidential guards on 24 November.

Islamic State (Isis) claimed responsibility for the explosion that shook Tunis city centre. The jihadi group had referred the attacker by his nom de guerre – Abu Abdullah al-Tunisi – in an online statement. "Tyrants of Tunis will not have peace and we will not rest until the law of God governs in Tunis," the statement read.

Tunisia's Interior Ministry said about 10kg of military explosives were boarded on the vehicle hidden inside a backpack or belt. Authorities had initially found only 12 bodies but remains of a 13th man, believed to be the suicide bomber, were later identified. DNA tests confirmed it was Ben Hedi, a local man who grew up in a working class suburb of the capital.

In the wake of the attack, Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi has declared a month-long state of emergency throughout the country and imposed a curfew over the capital.

The bombing was the last in a series of Islamist attacks in the country this year. In June jihadi militant Seifeddine Rezgui went on a shooting rampage in the popular beach resort of Sousse, killing 38 people. Earlier in March, 21 civilians and one policewoman were killed when gunmen opened fire at Tunis's Bardo Museum.