British police said that they have found a solid link between the recent Sousse beach massacre in Tunisia and an earlier shooting at the Bardo Museaum in capital Tunis. "The attack at the Bardo museum which left 22 dead, including one British woman, is now being linked to the Sousse murders," Commander Richard Walton, the head Counter Terrorism Command at Metropolitan Police, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Counter terrorism officers have linked two attacks in Tunisia https://t.co/tI5BO8F5Q9 pic.twitter.com/U94Gv7nGIQ
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 5, 2015
The June 26 terrorist attack at a popular holiday resort in Sousse beach killed 38 people - most of them British tourists - according to BBC. Twenty-two people - mostly foreign tourists - were killed in a terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March this year. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both deadly attacks.
There are "strong" links between June's Tunisia beach massacre and the Bardo Museum killings in March, UK police say https://t.co/n6gI87dtL8 — BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) August 5, 2015
British Police, however, declined to provide details of the connection between two Tunisian terror attacks.
"While I cannot go into further details regarding this live investigation, I can confirm that a team of officers, led by a senior detective from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, are working closely with the Tunisian authorities on both investigations and we have advised the coroner of the connection between the two," Walton elaborated in the statement.
The Metropolitan Police said that anti-terror officers have taken more than 450 witness statements since the day of ISIS-inspired shooting at the beach, according to The Irish Times. It also informed that the Tunisian security forces have detained 150 people over the beach massacre and 15 of them have been charged with terror offenses.
"The Tunisian authorities have deployed significant resource into this investigation and have carried out operations across the country to disrupt terrorist activity and identify suspects in relation to the Sousse attack. I understand in all around 150 people have been arrested of which 15 have been charged with terrorist-related offences and remanded in custody while the investigation continues," Walton added.
