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Bardo National Museum attack

SOLVED2015Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On 18 March 2015, two gunmen opened fire on tourists arriving by bus at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, Tunisia, then pursued fleeing visitors into the museum and took hostages. The siege lasted roughly three hours before security forces stormed the building, killing both attackers. A Tunisian police officer was fatally shot during the rescue operation. Twenty-one people were killed at the scene, most of them foreign tourists, including nationals of Italy, France, Japan, Poland, Spain, Colombia, Russia, and the United Kingdom. On 28 March, French national Huguette Dupeu died of injuries sustained in the attack, bringing the confirmed death toll to 22 victims plus the two perpetrators. More than 50 other people were injured. Many victims had arrived on the cruise ships MSC Splendida and Costa Fascinosa, which had docked that morning at the Port of La Goulette.

The attackers, Tunisian citizens Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui, were identified by Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid the day after the attack. Labidi was from the Tunis neighbourhood of Ibn Khaldoun and had worked as a deliveryman; Khachnaoui was from Kasserine. Neither man had previously been positively linked to known Tunisian terrorist organisations, though Labidi was known to intelligence services. Tunisian authorities said the pair had crossed undetected into Libya in December 2014 and received weapons training there, reportedly in Derna, according to a claim relayed by a BBC security correspondent.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened further violence, with associated social media accounts celebrating the killings. However, the Tunisian government attributed the attack to the Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade, a local splinter faction of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. On 28 March, Tunisian police killed an Algerian man, Lokman Abu Sakhra, described as the group's leader and suspected of planning the attack, along with eight other armed men during a raid in the Gafsa region.

In the days following the attack, Tunisian authorities arrested dozens of people with alleged direct or indirect links to the attack; their specific roles were not clarified in reporting. On 20 May 2015, a Moroccan national, Abdelmajid Touil, was arrested in Italy on suspicion of aiding the attackers. In January 2018, the U.S. State Department publicly designated a man named by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as having planned the Bardo attack.

The attack prompted large anti-terrorism protests in Tunis, a ceremonial reopening of the museum on 24 March, and a major international march on 29 March under the slogan "The World Is Bardo," attended by French President François Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and other world leaders. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi called the attack a "huge disaster" and declared a "war against terrorism," ordering troop deployments to major cities. Numerous foreign governments condemned the attack. In March 2019, a memorial to the British victim of the Bardo attack and victims of the 2015 Sousse attacks was unveiled in Birmingham, England.

Key facts

Victims
Huguette Dupeu, Francesco Caldara
Date
2015
Location
Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2015-03-18

    Two gunmen attack tourists and take hostages at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis; siege ends after about three hours when security forces kill both attackers.

  2. 2015-03-19

    Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid identifies the two slain gunmen as Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui; nine people arrested with alleged links to the attack cell.

  3. 2015-03-20

    Tunisian Security Minister Rafik Chelly says the attackers received weapons training in Libya prior to the attack.

  4. 2015-03-21

    Number of people arrested in connection with the attack reaches over twenty.

  5. 2015-03-24

    Bardo Museum holds a ceremonial reopening; solidarity march held in Tunis.

  6. 2015-03-26

    Authorities arrest twenty-three members of a terror cell linked to the attack.

  7. 2015-03-28

    French national Huguette Dupeu dies of wounds sustained in the attack; Tunisian police kill Lokman Abu Sakhra and eight other suspected Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade members in a raid in Gafsa.

  8. 2015-03-29

    Tens of thousands march in Tunis under the slogan "The World Is Bardo," joined by French President François Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and other leaders.

  9. 2015-05-20

    Moroccan national Abdelmajid Touil is arrested in Italy on suspicion of aiding the attackers.

  10. 2017-12

    US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson names Wanas al-Faqih and two other men as terrorists linked to planning activities.

  11. 2018-01-04

    US State Department designates Wanas al-Faqih as a globally designated terrorist, describing him as having planned the Bardo Museum attack.

  12. 2019-03-04

    Memorial "Infinite Wave" to the British victim and victims of the 2015 Sousse attacks is unveiled in Birmingham, England.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Abdelmajid Touil

    CHARGED

    Moroccan national arrested in Italy on 20 May 2015 on allegations of aiding the attackers.

    citation on file

  • Wanas al-Faqih

    CHARGED

    Named by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in December 2017 and formally designated a global terrorist by the US State Department in January 2018, which described him as having planned the Bardo Museum attack.

    citation on file

  • Huguette Dupeu

    VICTIM

    French national injured in the attack; died of her wounds on 28 March 2015.

    citation on file

  • Saber Khachnaoui

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Not applicable — see note: perpetrator killed by police during the attack; listed here only because schema lacks a 'perpetrator' role and the individual was never charged as he was killed at the scene.

    citation on file

  • Francesco Caldara

    VICTIM

    Italian tourist killed in the attack; his image was later circulated by an Islamic State-linked Twitter account.

    citation on file

  • Lokman Abu Sakhra

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Not applicable — see note: Algerian suspect described as leader of the Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade and alleged attack planner, killed by Tunisian police during a raid on 28 March 2015; never formally charged as he was killed.

    citation on file

  • Yassine Labidi

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Not applicable — see note: perpetrator killed by police during the attack; listed here only because schema lacks a 'perpetrator' role and the individual was never charged as he was killed at the scene.

    citation on file

Places

Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia

36.8097, 10.1339

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 18 March 2015, two gunmen attacked the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, killing 21 people at the scene—mostly European tourists—and injuring around 50 others; a further victim died ten days later. Tunisian security forces killed both attackers, later identified as Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui.
Where did the crime happen?
Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Bardo National Museum attackwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Guardiannews · The Guardian · 2026-07-07
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