The Ghriba synagogue bombing was carried out by
Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar on the
El Ghriba synagogue in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
in 2002.
Bombing
On April 11, 2002, a
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
fitted with
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
s drove past
security barriers at the ancient El Ghriba
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
on the Tunisian island of
Djerba
Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...
. The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
tourists, three
Tunisians
Tunisians ( ar, تونسيون ''Tūnisiyyūn'', aeb, توانسة ''Twensa'') are the citizens and nationals of Tunisia in North Africa, who speak Tunisian Arabic and share a common Tunisian culture and identity. In addition, a Tunisian diaspo ...
, and two
French nationals.
[Official Procès-Verbal, July 20th, 2002 in Tunis, El Fadel El Malki, Central Directorate of the Judicial police, The Criminal Affairs Bureau] More than 30 others were wounded.
Although the explosion was initially called an accident, as Tunisia,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
investigated, it became clear that it was a deliberate attack. A 24-year-old man named Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar was the
suicide bomber
A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...
, who carried out the attack with the aid of a relative. Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack, which was reportedly organized by
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-re ...
and
Saad bin Laden
( ar, سعد بن أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن; 19792009), better known as Saad bin Laden, was one of Osama bin Laden's sons. He continued in his father's footsteps by being active in Al Qaeda, and was being groomed to be ...
.
However, Saad's family denied he was involved in the attack.
In March 2003, five people were arrested in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
who were believed to have financed this attack. In April 2003, a German man named
Christian Ganczarski
Christian Ganczarski (born 1966, in Gliwice, Poland) is a German citizen of Polish ancestry who converted to a radical Islamic group.
Nicolas Sarkozy, then French Interior Minister, alleged Ganczarski was a top Al-Qaeda leader who had been in Afgh ...
was arrested in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in connection with the bombing. He was arrested by a joint intelligence operation, in the frame of
Alliance Base Alliance Base was the cover name for a secret Western Counterterrorist Intelligence Center (CTIC) that existed between 2002 and 2009 in Paris. The existence of CTICs were first revealed by Dana Priest in a November 17, 2005 article in ''The Washing ...
, which is located in Paris, and transferred to
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...
in Paris. In February 2009, Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing.
Commemoration of the victims
10 years after the attack, thanks to freedom of expression and organization brought by the 2011
Tunisian revolution
The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
, a Djerbian citizens' initiative to break the silence was adopted by the Presidency of the Republic and concerned
embassies
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
to commemorate victims of this attack.
Image:Marche 11 avril.jpg, Silent march
Image:Hommage_11_avril.jpg, Flowers laid for those killed in the attack
Image:Blumen 11 April.jpg
Image:Flowers 11 avril.jpg
On April 11, 2012,
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki
Mohamed Moncef Marzouki ( ar, محمد المنصف المرزوقي; ''Muhammad al-Munṣif al-Marzūqī'', born 7 July 1945) is a Tunisian politician who served as the fifth president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014. Through his career he has been ...
,
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
Horst-Wolfram Kerll (
de), the
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tunisia and
Boris Boillon, Ambassador of the French Republic to Tunisia, marched silently in homage to the victims. Moncef Marzouki met with present victims' families and delivered a memorial speech where he strongly condemned this attack and expressed on behalf of the people of Tunisia and the Tunisian government a deep compassion for victims and their families.
See also
*
List of terrorist incidents in Tunisia
Following is a list of major incidents involving terror groups operating in Tunisia. ''Note: the perpetrators are not counted in the dead or wounded below. These are all radical Islamic terrorism unless otherwise noted.''
References
{{reflist
...
References
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2002 in Judaism
2002 murders in Tunisia
21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations
21st-century mass murder in Africa
Al-Qaeda attacks
Antisemitism in Tunisia
April 2002 crimes
April 2002 events in Africa
Attacks on buildings and structures in 2002
Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Africa
Djerba
Explosions in Tunisia
Improvised explosive device bombings in 2002
Islam and antisemitism
Jews and Judaism in Tunisia
Mass murder in 2002
Mass murder in Tunisia
Murder in Tunis
Suicide car and truck bombings in Africa
Terrorist incidents in Tunis
Terrorist incidents in Tunisia in 2002
Attacks in Africa in 2002
2002 disasters in Tunisia