TUNIS (Web Desk) – Tunisia will shut down about 80 mosques accused of inciting violence after a beach attack that left 39 people dead.
Prime Minister Habib Essid said the mosques, which operate outside state control, are spreading “venom” and will close within a week, the BBC reported.
A gunman disguised as a tourist opened fire at a Tunisian hotel on Friday with a rifle he had hidden in an umbrella, killing 39 people including Britons, Germans and Belgians as they lounged at the beach in an attack claimed by Islamic State.
The gunman was shot dead by police. Officials say he was a student not previously known to authorities.
This was the second major attack on tourists in Tunisia since March, when militants killed 22 people, mainly foreigners, at a museum in the capital.
Speaking at a news conference in Tunis, Mr Essid said: “Some mosques continue to spread their propaganda and their venom to promote terrorism.”
He said they would be closed by the interior ministry.
Mr Essid also vowed to act against parties and groups “acting outside the constitution” – such action could range from a warning to closure.
Referring to Friday’s attack, Mr Essid said most victims were British, without providing details.
Security officials said one attacker, who had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol, started shooting on the beach before entering the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, continuing to shoot.
The attack took place during the holy Muslim month of Ramazan, on a day in which a decapitated body daubed with Arabic writing was found in France, a suicide bomber killed two dozen people at a mosque in Kuwait and at least 145 civilians were reported killed by Islamic State militants in northern Syria.
Read more: 25 killed, 202 wounded in Kuwait mosque blast
In a statement on social media, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Tunisian attack. It had urged its followers to step up assaults during the holy month.
Read more: IS militants kill 146 in Syria’s Kobani
Rafik Chelli, a senior interior ministry official, said the gunman killed was unknown to authorities and not on any watchlist of potential jihadists. A security source named him as Saifeddine Rezgui, a 23-year-old electrical engineering student.
