so now when you drive or walk around tunisia, you have tunisia [ inaudible ] all around and the isis created group -- the local stamp of isis has been attacking the idea of the nation state. so i think this looks very much like an isis attack. >> we still don't know that at this point. that is speculation. as you can see helicopters circling above the museum and counter terrorist forces are said to be surrounding the museum in tunis. nazanine is here with us. they claim they have handled the aftermath of the arab spring bather than many in the region. and a lot has been going on in libya recently. could we have anticipated that they would have been dragged into the chaos as well? >> i mean one of the reasons why tunisia's revolution wasn't violent in the same way, is because it doesn't have the same history of violence doesn't have the sectarian divide like other countries. it's a small, tiny country. . it is not that rich or powerful. it has been playing a very neutral role. it has consulates both in tobruk and tripoli, it has good diplomatic relations with both sides in that confli

and they have been threatening tunisia tunisia. [ technical difficulties ] and ensuring that tunisia's transition continues and progresses. >> okay. as you know of course there has been criticism of your party which was in power before this new government came into power after the revolution that they didn't do enough to stop training the rise of -- you know, of these groups of so-called terrorist groups. what do you respond to those critics? >> all around the world when terrorist attacks take place, all parties condemn them and show unity in the face of this danger that threatens all of us and it is not the time to -- to be divided or to -- throw blame at it. we recognize the danger of terrorism, and there are shortcomings of course and each government has been doing better at combatting this threat that threatens us and our neighbors and the rest of the region and the world as a whole. >> so do you stand behind the government today in the fight against these groups? >> absolutely. we strongly condemn this attack and stand united with the government and we believe that it is only with

she's there in tunisia. jennifer tell us where you were during this attack and also tell us about what you're learning about it. >> the latest that we've heard so far is that two terrorists have been killed and hostages have been released. >> so two terrorists killed. so we believe it was two terrorists. have you learned anything about what the motivation was and also who is telling you that the terrorists have been killed and the threat appears to have been resolved? >> it's too early to tell who these terrorists are. so far we are getting reports from local radio stations here in tunisia. >> okay. so tell us a little bit about this museum and it's attached to parliament. it looks like from the video that we're seeing these are people out for a lovely afternoon and a chance to go see some really amazing archaeological finds there at this museum right? >> yes. the museum is one of the main local tourists locations in the capital capital. the museum has an incredible collection from ancient rome. magically pr

and tunisia itself has been targeted. but civilians have escaped from any kind of targeting or attack or even any suspicion of attack up until now. so for tunisians to try to understand whether it was tunisians who carried this out, i think it will be very difficult for tunisians to stomach that at the moment. >> when you think about the international scale of those people out there who are causing insurgencies, or whatever you want to call it you would think that's a pretty small number and yet the head of the e.u. foreign policy unit says it was in her words [ inaudible ] in other words isil. >> i think it's way too early to say it was isil or not. but you say it's three gunmen but we just don't know that. we don't know if there are other cells out there. we know in february the tunisian authorities arrested 32 suspects. they found a cashe of weapons. they believed that they were going to attack military and political institutions. but this was at the heart of the economy, and at a museum which has ancient artifacts dat

and tunisia as a democracy as well. tunisia was clearly threatened from the beginning by these groups that totally refused democracy, totally refused the fact that in a country, people can debate about all kinds of topics, politics, religion or else. i think what happened today is the achievement of these threats. and maybe there would be other attacks or maybe this is something like the "charlie hebdo" attack in paris that was limited to two days of attacks and that's it. i think security forces now will be more aware and more ready because the place where the attack happened today was not very well protected. you could get in without going through any scanner, without going through any serious security check. this is what happens. i think this is a wake-up call for the tunisian security forces and for the tunisians in general to be more aware that they're in a country surrounded by libya which is a country facing civil war. and in a dangerous moment where attackers can attack anywhere anytime either in europe in other

this is devastating for tunisia. not only the loss of life but the amount of money the country loses when tourists start to say it's not a great place to go. it's a sad story. it takes not weeks or months. it will take years potentially for some tourists to say it's safe to go there again. >> just to reiterate for viewers. phil, thank you so much. reiterate for viewers. we know that terrorists according to sources 19 people were killed in the attack. that number has gone up. most tourists. 17 of them dead were tourists. 20 tourists, two tunisians wounded in the attack. >> we heard from the state department that no americans were believed to have been killed in this attack. 19 dead. many wounded. we're getting new information. we'll have more right after this. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfun

and this is unprecedented for tunisia. >> yes, it is. and just in the last four months they held very important presidential and parliamentary elections. for the first time in its history, people came out and elected a president. really, people saw this as a turning point politically for tunisia, a bit of stability, and economic stability, because tourism in particular is extremely vital for the economy in tunisia, a lot of people looking at these pictures would be extremely worried not only about the fate of those people who have died and those being held hostage, but also what this means for the stability in tunisia. stability that was supposed to brought about by the elections which went about fairly peacefully. >> all right. we're bringing in a human rights activist who was involved in tunisia's revolution early on. obviously still a lot of unknowns in this situation. we don't know who is behind this attack at the museum. what is your initial reaction? what do you think is happening here? >> i mean -- everybody here deduced that it i

we turn now to tunisia where gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed tunisia's national museum on wednesday, killing 17 -- 20 foreign tourists and two tunisians. 50 people were injured. tunisian officials said the dead included residents from japan, italy, poland, france and spain. it was the most serious attack in years in tunisia where the arab spring began four years ago. the bardo museum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in tunis and is adjacent to the country's parliament building. the gunmen began the attack by opening fire on tourists as they got off a bus and then they chased them inside the museum. survivors of the attack described the scene inside the museum. >> it is hard to say. we were visiting the museum. suddenly, we hear loud noises. to start with, we thought it was a statue falling over. in fact, progressively we realize it was gunfire. the four of us were there. we found another couple with children. we didn't know what to do. we hid. we were on the top floor. after a while, the gunfire stabilized. there was a guide in the mosaic room who let us in. we awaited

it's not just the case of tunisia. and i think people are targeting somehow the -- what we might call the tunisia let's say success, the success of the last elections. so we want to stay positive. we want to think positive and we'll hope for that. >> we have seen people out on streets tonight united, demonstrating against the attacks, thousands of people it looks like out on the streets of the capital. how important is it now though, that the government, that the coalition government, remains united? >> oh, no. no. i think no one should be worried about the government. both -- i mean, the big ruling parties, and the movement are aware that violent terrorism on a large scale puts everyone at stake. so i don't see the government being -- you know, being concerned about any change right now. 9 government -- the government have been in states right now for two months now or even less. we might be talking about any change in the government. we might be testing the government in the next days, when i think the public opinion

we have heard from the prime minister of tunisia today. he called the terror attack quote, the first of its kind in the capital city. let me tell you what we know at this point in time. of the 19 dead 17 were tourists. not a one was american. 22 others were wounded. two gunmen were killed by police but three others are still at large. all hostages by now have been freed. joining me now is filmmaker and journalist roschon sali who produced the documentary "tunisia between secularism and islam" sand with me by phone. let's just begin with the fact that you were in tunisia a couple months ago covering the elections. before we get into the sheer number of tunisians who have left to fight with isis in syria, i understand you heard warnings of an attack then. can you tell me about that. >> well you know it doesn't surprise me what happened today, especially tourism. is goes right to the divide between the islamists and secularists, a very divided country. tourism is very kind of important for the country in terms of the economy because the econo

. >>> now to the country of tunisia. the terror group isis has apparently claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the national museum there. the government is stepping up security around the country because of it. officials hope to protect the international tourism industry that's so vital to that country's economy. barbara starr has this report. >> reporter: the blood is still there. tunisian security forces on high alert looking for at least three suspects in the attack that has now killed 23 people and injured three dozen. isis claiming responsibility for the attack warning this is just the start if an unverified audio message. >> this is the latest example of extremist terror, and we have to fight it with everything we have. >> reporter: growing u.s. worries about the spread of isis and where it could lead. >> a terrorism attack like this one on a soft target in tunisia promises there will be more terrorism in europe and eventually will wash up on the shores of the united states. >> reporter: for now, the u.s.

they never expected it to happen in tunisia. they have seen the chaos and violence in syria, libya, iraq and even egypt, and they did not expect it to happen on their doorstep. >> what will this do to the national psyche? >> i think for now tunisians will be united behind their security forces. behind their politicians. remember he has only been prime minister for seven or eight weeks. he is very very new. and he comes from a security background. he was the head of police at one point. he talks like a policeman, if you know like i mean and less like a politician. >> right. >> so he does seem to be very much on top of this situation, but if you speak to people who are close to those who want political islam in tunisia, or those who have been affected by torture and arrest interested in the past under the anti-terrorism law of 2003 they will be worried about a security backlash now that will involve innocent people. >> right. >> martin your reaction. we have been here for a number of hours now, but it is quite shocking as she said

people an effort to send a message to the outside world that tunisia is safe. however, it's going to be an argument that is going to be pretty difficult to win. tourism is based on sentiment rather than the deep knowledge of the situation on the ground. if people have a sense that it's not safe or stable they will simply go elsewhere on holiday. this is going to have a drastic impact on the tunisian economy. the tourism industry has never picked up yet from the kind of setback it received four years ago when the arab spring uprises began here in tunisia. there has been a certain up tick in the somebody of visitors coming in the last couple of years, since tunisia has had this appearance of going through a largely peaceful transition to democracy. and as i said cruz companies have already crossed off tunisia from his list of stops. >> jacky we'll be back with you a little bit later. for now, thank you very much. >>> well the final results in israeli's election that the prime minister's likud party are control of 30 of the seats in parliament. the zionist union w

and we had radical islamism in tunisia before. it was controlled by the mighty security apparatus of the diwali regimes. and we have another aspect, neighboring libya, and other countries in the north of africa which produce jihadists and has ongoing relations with countries with jihadists. tunisia is caught in the middle of this. >> we just are the tunisian government wants to eradicate terrorism. can't a turn things around? >> the tunisian's -- can it turn things around? >> the tunisians have cracked down in recent days. the big challenge is not to fall into the trap [no audio] members of the old regime security forces and according to the same old techniques of torture and of the police state that led to the arab spring and the uprising in tunisia. they need to be very careful of this and they need the support of european countries. >> is at least a significant portion of the population radicalize? is radical islam a danger in tunisia? is it stable right now? >> i think tunisia is stable right now and i think tunisians have fou

>>> tourists attacked in tunisia. gunmen killed 19 people at a museum. >>> welcome to al jazeera live. ahead, the united states rebukes benjamin netanyahu accusing him of undermining democratic ideas. >>> faceoff in frankfurt as the national bank is targeted by protesters. >>> tunisia's prime minister is calling on the country to unite after an attack on the capital. at least 19 people were killed when gunmen raided a museum in wednesday. 17 foreign nationals were among the dead striking the political and economic heart of the city. the museum as you can see here with the red roof is just a few minutes from tunisia's parliament building. jackie roland reports now on the brazen attack on one of tunisia's most famous tourist spots. >>reporter: security forces call out for reinforcements. they surround the museum one of tunisia's most famous tourist destinations. there were hundreds of visitors inside when gunmen opened fire. some of them managed to get out running for their lives. authorities say the gunmen hunted peopl

it's definitely in tunisia. they've been staking attacks and fighting with the tunisian armed forces along the algerian border for months really years now, since the arab spring uprising. it's very conceiveableconceivable. of course, it's not yet confirmed. it's very conceivable that this is an outgrowth. but they also have strong ties now to isis. many of the cells are swearing loyalty to isis. so this could definitely be a sign of that drift towards isis-style methods. >> borzou daragahi thank you. we're going to talk more about this tunisia and port city of tunis being on the mediterranean sea. as borzou brought up the fact of the arab spring. we can look to the west of tunisia would be libya, then egypt. then we would go over into the middle east and sea syria there. you can see how close tunisia is to the boot there of italy on the top left of your screen. again, this is a port city. we know there were excursions coming in from cruise liners there into the city of tunis. we'll continue to follow the develop

it started in tunisia. things seemed to be moving in a great direction not only there but throughout north africa. of course elsewhere in the middle east. but that has collapsed for all practical purposes totally, right? >> i think it remains to be seen in tunisia. this is one event. but it's only obviously collapsed completely in libya. to call libya a failed state is almost too polite at this point. i talked to u.s. government officials who estimate about a twelfth of the country is under control of these jihadi groups like isis. and you know which is not an outcome that anybody could have predicted immediately after the fall of gadhafi. >> general hertling let me get your quick thought about that u.s. air force veteran who was arraigned in a brooklyn federal court trying to sneak across from turkey into syria to join forces with isis. he had been on the fbi's radar screen at least going back to 9/11 when he was expressing sympathy for bin laden. how does a guy like this get clearances to become a u.s. ar

one of the tunisia's most famous tourist destination. there were hundreds of visitors inside when gunmen open fired. some people managed to get out running for their lives. authorities say that the security hunted gunmen down. they were spraying bullets. >> we heard big noises. at first we thought it was a statue falling but bit by bit we realized it was gunshots. there were four of us, we also found a couple with children. we didn't know what to do. we hid in the top floor. we heard that the gunshots had stopped. we went down to the mosaic group. the police told us to run get out quickly. >> tunisia's parliament, which is next to the museum, was in session at the time. it was evacuated. very quickly the police go in, killing the two gunmen. but there are reports that up to three others helping the attackers are on the run. >> there is no hope for those who carried out this heinous crime. tunisia has to be on high alert to deal with these people. we must eliminate them completely from the face of the map. no one expected this. >> this is

how has that affected neighboring countries like tunisia? >> tunisia has played a very neutral role in what's happening in libya. it is seen by many as the switzerland of the region. it has maintained good relations with the tabruk government recognized by the u.n. and the tripoli court-appointed government. it's also tried to maintain relations with the former general hafta, who is now the military commander of the tubuk side of libya. it has been affected and closed its air space to western libya. it has accepted libyan refugees. there were 3 million libyans living in tunisia at the moment. it has found a lot of weaponry on the border between tunisia and libya. it's tried to maintain this distance and not get too involved in the operations going on in libya. but there is one connection which i'm sure we can maybe explore. on saturday a man wanted in an as sass nation he was killed on saturday in libya. we don't know if there's a connection between his death and what we've seen her today in tunis today. i think a lot of people will ask whet

one ever tunisia's most famous tourist destinations. there were hundreds of visitors inside when gunmen opened fire. some people managed to get out. running for their lives. authorities say the gunmen hunted people down spraying bullets. >> translator: we were visiting the museum and suddenly we heard big noises. at first we thought it was a statute falling but bit by bit we realized it was gun shots. there were four of us. we also found a couple with children and we didn't know what to do. we hid on the top floor and after a while we heard the gun shots had stopped. we went down and there was a guide in the mosaics room we stayed there for an hour without moving until the police came, they told us you run you run get out quickly. they then took us to the military barracks. >> reporter: tunisia's parliament was in session at the time. it was evacuated. very quickly the police go in killing the two gunmen but there are reports up to three others helping the attackers are on the run. >> translator: we want to send our condolences to the f

jacky rowland reports on the brazen attack on one of tunisia tunisia's favorite tourist spots. >> security forces call out for reinforcements. they surround the bardo museum. there were hundreds of visitors inside when gunmen open fired. some of them managed to get out running for their lives. authorities say the gunmen hunted people down. >> we were visiting the museum. and suddenly we heard big noises. bit by bit we realized there were gunshots. we found a couple with children. we didn't know what to do. we hid in the top floor and we heard that the gunshots had stopped. we went down and there was a guide in the mosaic room. we stayed there without moving until the police came. they told us to run get out quickly, and they took us to the military baraks. >> tunisia's parliament, next to the museum, was in session at the time of the attack. the police quickly moved in, killing two gunmen. there are reports that up to three others who helped the assailants were on the run. >> we want to send our condolences to the family of the victims. the tunisian people must understand that we're at war

tunisia president visits the national museum and vows to fight terrorism. ♪ many of those killed in the attack were tourists the international community is united in its condemnation and i'm jane in doha and a victory of boko haram and soldiers from chad retake a town in northeastern nigeria. brazil's president responds to a wave of anti-government protests vowing to stamp out corruption plus a bear cub available toll eat or perhaps you want a tiger skin and we report on the wildlife trade. ♪ tunisia president has a war on terrorism and made comments after a deadly attack on one of the capitol popular tourist sites, this is a scene live right now, that is the entrance to the compound that is home to the national museum. as you can see a couple of armed guards are stationed outside and let's take a look at what happened there on wednesday. two gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed the museum killing 19 people and 17 of them tourists and hours later they stormed next door to tunisia parliament and killed both gunmen and unclear what the motivation was and people gathered to pay respe

>> this is a real problem right now for tunisia. it's not so much that the security situation has deteriorated and in tunisia we've seen two terror attacks in the past few years. this is not new per se. but the fact that tourists were involved in this, and this is going to end a very negative significant both to foreign investors who were starting look at tunisia as a possible investment destination or a place to spend holiday time. now this is going to change because of the negative perception that will develop from this. >> it is regarded by many people as the only country where the arab spring revolution has succeeded. if i'm right what you have at the moment is a secular coalition with--it's two very disparate groups. will this likely push a wedge between them to make the country more fragile than it already it? >> i don't think so. the think the fact that we have islamists and secularists makes it so neither side can exploit. they will need to cooperate together and work out a solution to this president bush without blaming eac

as we come on the air today, there are new arrests in tunisia. the latest place to be turned upside down. four suspects are under arrest for direct connections on the bardo attack in tunisia. tunisia joins france australia, and canada of victims of the so-called terror spectacular, low-tech attacks that up end any sense of security. 23 people are now confirmed dead after wednesday's attack. the dead include 20 foreign tourists from eight countries. this tiny north african nation has seen disproportionately high numbers of fighters joining isis. 3,000 have fugtought inside syria and iraq more than any other nation. officials fear at least 500 of them have returned home. u.s. intel is working to confirm isis is responsible. >> while we're not yet able to confirm the voracity of this claim, the tactics that we saw at the bardo museum would be entirely consistent with tactics that isil has previously used that show a blatant disregard and even a brutality for innocent civilians. >> tunisia is home to competing terror groups jockeying for dominance, n

we're seeing it taking place in tunisia. underscoring what we have been hearing from neighboring countries. whether it's tunisia, egypt, algeria and others a real concern about the jihadist threat coming from libya. isa. >> what's worrying is that some militias in several libyan cities have declared allegiance to isis even describing some of the young men as knights and promising more attacks. >> reporter: exactly. this is what we have seen over the past few months. it's not only these various jihadist groups we have seen taking hold in libya. in recent months we have seen a number of groups in the three different provinces of libya pledging allegiance to isis. and also very worrying has been the high profile attacks we have seen taking place in libya. the attack on the corinthia hotel in january killing a number of foreigners who were there. and a very worrying one was the horrific beheading video that we saw claimed by isis in a city in central libya. the beheading of the more than 20 egyptian christians. very similar to t

our correspondent has the latest from tunisia. reporter: tunisia's black wednesday has left its mark. the so-called islamic state said that it's gunmen carried out the attack. the gunmen took this into the museum. then, when they got to this point, they started shooting. they headed down towards the museum itself. at this point, tourists would have heard the shots and the explosions and they would had just seconds to see if they could find a hiding place here. tourists from japan, spain, australia, the u.k., and italy were hit. >> they came in and sprayed bullets. a bullet grazed my side. next to me were two people that did not move and others that were injured. reporter: a 57-year-old, a solicitor from shropshire was killed in the attack. her family says they are devastated. she and her husband had been on a cruise. this morning there ship left for barcelona. robert has stayed here. he's been helped by the british embassy. >> these terrorist attacks were an appalling and brutal outrage. i can confirm that one of those killed was

it could have been--tourism is a very soft target in tunisia. it is the lifeblood of country and strategically there are attempts to protect it. i think this shows the attack, as you will know, was a simple of tunisian culture. it's very daring. it's very symbolic, and the government should be very humiliated and hopefully will respond accordingly. >> great to get your thoughts and analysis. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> now, crimea is knocking the one-year anniversary of its annexation by russia. it was a move that was seen by a land grab. >> crimea celebrations may well be staged and managed but they're felt by russians. russia's black sea fleet the mood is jibe atlanta. >> we're very glad. a we have very patriotic feelings towards russia. >> i lived here for many years awe never saw anything good. now with russia we feel free. russia is a big state with big future and powerful potential that can stand up for its people. >> there will be organized organized celebrations in russia and a few words from the man who posted in a documentar

a reminder, tunisia is a major vacation destination for people all around europe. and that's who the attack targeted this morning at a popular tourist destination. >>reporter: the tourists stepped off the bus and were immediately fired on. some died instantly. others escaped. some running to the building they came to visit but the inside of tunisia's national museum proved no safer who were taken hostage by attackers. others managed to hide in the build sglg we waited approximately one hour sitting on the floor without moving until the police intervened. >>reporter: hours later a raid by security forces killed at least two gunmen but two or three more may be out there. >> they came as guests to our country. i feel sorry. we're sad. it's a sin. what did they do to us? >>reporter: the president said he was at a loss for words and despite no clear indication who carried out the attacks said there's no room for radicalism in his country. >> this was a huge tragedy and there is no hope for these people so tunisia must stand strong and wipe them out. >>reporter: the prim

oh tunisia! then you realize that you escaped from it but the other people are not lucky. >> our phil black is joining us live from tunis right now. most of the victims were europeans, a few asians. tell us about the departure of the survivors and the status of the victims right now, those who survived but remain in hospitals. >> reporter: wolf we've been inside some of the hospitals here in tunis and seen how hard how frantically medical and administrative staff are working to treat the wounded. they were initially inundated. they're working through them treating them and getting them out the door as fast as they can and working with local diplomatic stuff to to get them on flights back to their homeland as quickly as possible. that process is going and largely depends on how well a lot of these patients are. the other process that are under way are the bodies those that didn't survive the attack. in the morgue earlier today we were told there are still some 15 bodies being held there some of wh

ambassador to tunisia. he was there during the arab spring. good evening to you. >> good evening. >> what do you make of this attack and what should americans be concerned about here with my links to isis? >> well what i make of it is that whoever was responsible, whether it was isis or another group, was clearly trying to target tunisia, not just for tunisia's sake but because it's a symbol of a successful arab spring country, that is in the process of making a transition to democracy. and i think since we support that transition to democracy, not just in tunisia but elsewhere, in is indirectly an attack on the united states and on our values. >> i hear what you're saying. i think nip would hope that you're right about the progress. but you know better than anyone there's another layer to the story there in tunisia, which is that it had been a highly forcibly secularized country before the revolution and there's been an upserge in muslim activities including over 3,000 people allegedly leaving or working from tunisia to join isis one of the h

tunisia's foreign minister says up to 2 million libyans have fled to tunisia. almost a third of libya's libya's population. as nazanine moshiri reports. >> in a hotel in tunis mohamed remembers his life in tripoli. he's from zintan, a town in the west. >> it is very hard and it hurts. i spent 30 years building my life and in a split second it was lost. i have to start from scratch all over again. >> this is why libyans are leaving. this is the aftermath of an air strike in tripoli. the conflict is being fought in the air and on the ground. hundreds of people have been killed since the beginning of the year. tunisia offers libbians libyans little. >> if we don't gif a hand for libyans where they will go? they don't have any choice . >> translator: the situation in libya scares me. it's dramatic and bloody. we aren't used to this as muslims and it terrifies us because libya is on our border. >> tunisia recognizes both of libya's rival governments. it's trying to play a neutral role. tunisia says it will continue to welcome libyan rfgz refugees but there is concer

tunisia is praised all around the world. you have a lot of european tourists, you have american investments coming so this is you know for somebody as we think now, it is someone affiliated to the i.s.i.s. ideology, this is the place to astack. >> you have commented on social media that the arab spring in tunisia has not faded away. what do you mean by that? >> because i've been reading and listening from many sources from many people, even well respected people that it's over in tunisia it's finished, the revolution did not lead to nowhere and now a lot of tunisians are saying we need to bring back the dictator ship and we need to bring it back, this is wrong. this is not first of all a similar attack happened in 2002, ended the dictator ship in a jewish synagogue in tunisia i think 17 tourists or more were killed. just to say things are collapsing in tunisia is totally wrong. this was a alone lone attack. thousands of tunisians demonstrating against terrorism and calling for revenge against the terrorists. >> political ana

he was the ambassador to tunisia from 2012. where you surprised by what happened in tunisia? gordon: i am not. i did not predict the scale of the attack, but tunisia has been fighting terrorists and these kinds of attacks, and the mountainous areas bordering nigeria and in the southern border with libya. katty: the scale of organization. they can get from the west into the capital? horton: and it was very well-planned. in the report that you just showed, it indicated that it targeted parliament first. the work of initial reports that they were rebuffed by security forces. they went next door and hit the bardo museum. that is why tourists were hit with the fatalities. katty: 3000 tunisians, the largest number of any country who have joined the islamic state. what motivates them? gordon: this spare. hopelessness. lack of employment. even before the revolution in tunisia, there was a disproportionate number of tunisian per capita fighting in iraq. katty: and yet tunisia was the great hope. gordon: i think it remains the great hope. tunisians show through the political process th

tunisia offers libyans safety but little more. there is no work, and many libyans live off of their savings. they can't buy property so they rent, which is pushing up the cost of living. >> if we don't give a hand for the libyans, yeah, where they will go? they don't have any choice. >> translator: the situation is libya scares me. it's dramatic and bloody. we aren't used to this as muslims and this terrifies everybody, because libya is on our border. >> reporter: tunisia's army is also worried. it's deployed soldiers to the border area. tunisia recognizes both of libya's rival governments. it's trying to play a neutral role. tu knee sla says it will continue to welcome libyan testify gees but there are concerns that violence could spill over into tunisia with fighters and weapons ending up here. returning is not an option for people like this man. a former television presenter in tripoli, his life was threatened. he had to leave his family and fiance behind. >> you have to be with one side. if you be impartial, or be agonist, or

tunisia offers libyans safety but little more. they can't buy property so they represent, which pushes up the cost of living. >> if we don't give a hand to the libyans where will they go? they don't have any choice. >> the situation in libya scares me. it's dramatic and bloody. we aren't used to this as muslims, and this terrifies everybody because libya is on our border. >> tunisia's army is also worried. it's deployed soldiers it the border area. tunisia recognizes both of libya's rival governments and it's trying to play a neutral role. tunisia said that it will continue to welcome libyan refugees but there are concerns that violence in libya could spill over into tunisia with fighters and weapons ending up here. >> returning is not an option for some people. a former television presenter in tripcally, tripoli his life was threatened. he had to leave his family and fiancÉ behind. >> you have to be with one side. if you arism partial you will be accused and be targeted. there is no freedom for any part of libya now unfortunatel

it was a scene that unfolded at this museum in the capital of tunisia. these people were visiting the bardo museum and you can see how close it was to the parliament building here in the capital. 22 others were wounded in this shooting. two gunmen were killed by police but three other terrorists are on the loose. tunisia's prime minister is calling this assault, goat, unquote unquote, appalling. lawmakers were working nearby when the gunfire erupted. in fact one spoke with cnn by phone explaining that the gunman first tried to enter parliament got into a shootout with security and then headed for the tourists. >> and we just heard gunshots and then we -- people workers from the administration in the assembly told us that we had to stop our work because the parliament was attacked from its main entrance. and then the information that they had is that we -- the tourists went first to the main entrance of the parliament building and then when there was some gun fight between them and the officers who were in the entrance. they came back and went to the entr

they want to show tourists the rest of tunisia. so it comes at a very difficult time at a very early stage of this political transition that so far, as you said has gone quite well. and people are really wondering what this will mean for the rest of the transition. >> thank you very much indeed bringing together the latest strands on that story. in fact, just confirmed from the british foreign secretary, phillip hammond, he has acknowledged he's in nairobi at the moment and acknowledged that one british national was killed in the museum incident. a british woman and her family has been informed. >>> heavy night in southern yemen has closed international in the port city of adan. several were killed there. yemen has been in political limbo since the president and the government resigned in january. well mohammad is the bbc arabic editor. he gave me the latest. >> the army units that are allied to the president, are joined by militias who support him, have managed to repel this attack on the airport in adan in south yemen, by this sp

tunisia is going to be we have heard coordinating more closely with foreign partners. it has already been talking to france. and we know the french interior minister is due here in tunis on friday. i think we can see a greater political aligning now of tunisia with other countries who are fighting the threat of these kinds of attacks. >> jacky, thank you very much for that. jacky rowland for us in tunis. >>> wednesday's deadly attack was the first on civilians in tunisia since the 2011 revolution. al-qaeda and other groups are present in the country, but usually target political figures. an opposition leader was murdered an al-qaeda member was blamed and tunisia's army upped its campaign against armed groups. fast forward to december last year where the military says it carried out a mission in the mountains clearing out search camps. february 17th brought the first deadly assault on government forces. four guards were killed by members of al-qaeda-linked group in the central region. the following day, 100 people were arrested suspected of preparing multiple attacks ac

in tunis, tunisia's mediterranean capital, armed gunmen opened fire. they killed at least 19 people and wounded around 50. most of them vacationers from europe. many had just arrived on cruise ships. nbc's katy tur has been working this story for us all day and has more. >> reporter: guns drawn, tunisian officers scramble to evacuate tourists from the museum. one describes her terror as police told her to get out fast saying, "you must run, you must run." the gunmen killed at least 19 people. others were held hostage. tunisian forces finally killed two gunmen, but others may still be at large. the bardo museum is in central tunis next to parliament which went into lockdown during the standoff. members of parliament sang the national anthem in defiance. ♪ tunisia's prime minister said "our nation is in danger." the arab spring began in tunisia in 2011, but the country has been struggling since. >> in addition to the arab spring providing opportunities for democratic growth in tunisia, unfortunately it also unleashed a wave of radicalism. >> reporter:

allen pizzey reporting at the scene in tunisia. from tunisia, we move down the mediterranean where prime minister benjamin netanyahu's reelection to a fourth term will likely bring new tension between israel and the united states. netanyahu opposes president obama's nuclear negotiations with iran and mr. obama's belief that only creation of a palestinian state on ireland's border will bring peace to the region. barry petersen is our man in tel aviv. >> as prime minister netanyahu gave thanks to jerusalem's wailing wall critics say his come-from-behind win was mostly about fear. this ad showed islamic militants headed for israel, citing it's netanyahu or them. in a divisive campaign netanyahu also reversed his support for a separate palestinian state which is central to u.s. efforts to relaunch peace talks. israeli columnist gideon levy. >> the moment of truth for israel is a moment of truth for the american administration. now let's see what is the alternative to the two-state solution which is apparently dead. >> reporter: netanya

>> we had a previous law against terrorism in tunisia the law of 2003. it seemed this allow is obsolete, we needed to change. we have made this kind of decision early on after the revolution and since maybe 2012 2013, there has been discussion, legal discussion, sometimes social discussion to change this law to improve it, to make it apply to international standards of human rights and democracy away from the repressive law of 2003, a law that also has been inefficient in the past. we want to improve this law to consider the new challenges of the fight against terrorism in tunisia but also abroad. >> where do you think this will leave retributions. one concern leveled at security forces is how they tackle with such force suspects, not only suspects but their families. >> let's say something about this attack is that it's the first time that this attack happens on civilians. most of the attacks that happened previously in tunisia happened in let's say against the security forces. this is the first time it happened against civilians, but more than civilian

tunisia. birthplace of the arab spring, now under attack. worst terrorist attack i am aware of there. and tunisia ships more foreign fighters into the islamic state than any other source we know of. what do you make of it? >> it is frustrating. they are the country that benefit most from arab spring, got rid of an authorian regime in 20 years there is a democraticly elected secular government trying to do what is right for their people, the challenge is they have radical islamists running around their country as many north african and western african countries have. we i don't know for a fact if isis is the culprit, but they have to be high on anybody's list. we know how vulnerible any society is to shooting in a public place like a national museum only way to deal with it so frustrating to me because we have no strategy from this administration to cope with radical islam as it spreads in middle east, and will makes it way as far as the pacific rim. no global alliance, no global strategy to cope with it, no assistance in terms of technology

the museum in the capital of tunisia took two tourists hostage. those gunmen were "r" among those who died. in iraq, shia militia recapture al-alam from isil. >>> in frankfurt germany thousands taking part in an anti-austerity anti-capitalism protest. >>> prime minister benjamin netanyahu will impact nuclear talks. there was a stunning turn around from mr. netanyahu. his party has earned 30 seats in parliament, and it looks like he'll be able to build a coalition government with ease. we have more from westafter a bruising campaign, of prime minister benjamin netanyahu says prayers and thanks supporters. >> i appreciate citizens of israel to elect me and my friends against all odds and in the face of powerful forces, and i will do everything i can to care for the security and welfare of all israelis. >> netanyahu's decisive victory came as a surprise to many, not least isaac herzog after weeks of competing in the opinion polls accepted defeat. >> i would like to make clear. the challenges are the same challenges. the problems are the same problems

what happened in tunisia? why did the democracy built after the dictator was overthrown why has it seemingly deteriorated so fast? >> well poppy, i think this has been going on for many years. you had a very corruption regime ben ali was extremely corrupt, a lot of unemployment. you saw a lot of kid rejecting the west. when they reject the west they default to islam. they didn't like the tourists on their beaches scantily clad and the rest of it in the nightclubs and totally rejected it. so when the wars came along in syria, iraq and libya now, the major problem, a lot of them fled the west east influence and this the way they did it so went to islam. >> bob brings up libya, which is very important because of the border and also the fact that these two gunmen a at the national bardo museum were apparently trained in libya and came over. >> that's right. >> any way to protect tunisia from becoming a failed state? >> with the situation, poppy, in libya as well as in algeria to the west extraordinarily challengin

these guys were in tunisia. it was reported 3,000 tunisians have traveled to iraq and syria to join the fight with isis so the foreign fighter aspect from the isis threat is a very real possibility. aq in the maghreb will be the third choice. most likely ansar al sharia or isis plot behind it. it's a western target. tunisia has been -- it was the birthplace of the arab spring really the beacon of hope for democracy in the region the only one. i think that's why they are trying to bring down tunisia. first looking at their parliament to hit that then western tourists at the museum. >> even if it is this sort of birthplace of -- it is the birthplace of the arab spring a place of promise certainly and it's a country that is trying to figure out how it balances security with democracy right now, but you also have this very real statistic that tunisia has the most number the biggest number of people who are going to fight with isis. why is that? what is driving tunisians to syria and iraq? >> well a lot of northern a

also ahead, nine people arrested in tunisia, following a deadly attack on the museum in the capitol. >>> plus an attack on tripoli's only working airport delays talks in morocco. >>> and robots doing everything for us but there is a real concern it could leave millions unemployed. ♪ >>> we begin in yemen where the president has fled his residence in aden amid escalating violence. air strikes were launched on the presidential palace, and hadi's forces responded with gunfire. it was centered near the international airport, and there are reports that two shells hit the ground. imran khan reports. [ shouting ] [ gunfire ] >> reporter: in many ways this is battle not between two rival groups but between two men. forces loyal to president hadi retake the airport from forces loyal to the former president. it was a short but tough battle lasting four hours. the special forces unit fighters had refused to give up their arms then they attacked the airport. the fighting got so intense, the airport was shut down and passengers taken off of planes and back into the terminal. hadi fled from sana

. >> it does not exist in tunisia. we do not have terrorism. it is all-important. oliver: the attacks occurred wednesday in the national museum and parliament building. two or three armed men opened fire on a tour bus. some of the gunmen were allegedly wearing military uniforms. there was instant panic. other visitors were tracked inside for almost four hours. >> we were visiting the museum, and then all of a sudden we heard a big noise. we thought summing had fallen, but then we realized it was gunfire. oliver: the bardo museum is located in the same facility as the tunisia general simply wherein antiterrorism bill was being debated. parliament's president said the country's symbols had been targeted. president essebsi: the targets of the attack were both the parliament and the national museum. these are symbols. this attack was a message to tell us terrorism has changed and that even the capital and it has lowered national symbols and inside. oliver: two of the gunmen were killed by police. they are on the hunt for p