The alleged mastermind of last week’s twin suicide bombings in Tunis was killed during an overnight firefight with police outside the capital, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday. The man detonated an explosive belt after he was shot at. There were no other casualties or damage reported. “The terrorist Aymen Smiri was implicated in the twin suicide bombings on Thursday, and investigations proved that he was the mastermind of the operation,” ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag said. The incident followed two nearly concurrent attacks last Thursday that killed a police officer and wounded eight. Islamic State claimed responsibility for those attacks. Tunisia has been battling extremist groups since an uprising overthrew autocratic leader Zine Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Additionally, President Beji Caid Essebsi, 92, who had been taken to a military hospital the same day as the bombings due to what his office termed “a severe health crisis,” was released from the hospital and is set to resume work in the coming days, his son said on his Facebook page.
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