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Tunisia Releases Images Of Beach Attack Suspects

Tunisia Releases Images Of Beach Attack Suspects

Tunisia has released photographs of two men being sought in connection with the shooting dead of 38 people on a tourist beach.

The men in the images were identified as Bin Abdallah and Rafkhe Talari.

Their connection to gunman Seifeddine Rezgui was not immediately clear, but a Sky News investigation earlier found he was believed to be part of a five member terror cell .

Rezgui opened fire on sunbathing tourists in Sousse on Friday, leaving 38 dead, the majority of them British.

Sky's investigation involved interviews with more than a dozen students and friends of the killer, including one who confirmed Rezgui confessed to him he was a member of Islamic State and a jihadist.

Tunisian authorities say he acted alone during the attack, but had accomplices who supported him beforehand, providing him with weapons and logistical support.

One of the country's top security officials has confirmed Rezgui was trained in neighbouring Libya at the same time as the attackers who targeted the Bardo museum in March.

Rafik Chelli said Rezgui sneaked into Libya in January and trained near the western town of Sabratha.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said the spread of IS into the "ungoverned territory" of Libya helped sow the seeds for the beach attack.

He said the presence of IS there posed a threat to neighbouring countries "which sadly we have seen realised".

Mr Hammond insisted it was not a mistake for the UK to be involved in the effort to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi, even though the country has descended into chaos since his fall from power in 2011.

He said: "We have been dealing with ISIL (another name for IS) in Syria and Iraq, we have a significant military operation in Iraq where we are delivering the second largest number of air strikes against ISIL targets.

"But as ISIL has spread across Libya in this ungoverned space it has posed a threat not just to us but to the neighbouring countries, which sadly we have seen realised in this attack in Tunisia."

A total of seven suspected associates of the gunman have been detained and are being questioned by Tunisian authorities.

Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi said an investigation was under way into security failures and there would be armed police on beaches.

The president said heightened security had been planned from 1 July to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but that attacks on tourists had not been anticipated.

Meanwhile, the first of 80 mosques accused of spreading extremist messages has been shut down by officials, along with a number of jihadi websites.