Solved case · 2002
Ghriba-stegop-02Credit: StegopCC BY-SA 3.0SourceThe short answer
On 11 April 2002, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden gas truck outside the ancient El Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, killing 19 people — 14 German tourists, three Tunisians, and two French nationals — and wounding more than 30 others.
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Suggest coverage for Ghriba synagogue bombingOn 11 April 2002, a natural gas truck fitted with explosives was driven past security barriers at the El Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, one of the oldest synagogues in Africa. The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14 German tourists, three Tunisians, and two French nationals, and wounding more than 30 other people.
The explosion was initially described as an accident. As investigators from Tunisia, France, and Germany examined the scene, it became clear that the blast was a deliberate attack rather than an accidental gas explosion. The perpetrator was identified as a 24-year-old man named Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar, who carried out the bombing as a suicide attacker with the assistance of a relative. Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack, which was reportedly organized by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Saad bin Laden; however, Saad bin Laden's family denied his involvement.
In March 2003, five people were arrested in Spain in connection with the bombing. On 10 May 2006, two of them — Spanish businessman Enrique Cerda and Pakistani national Ahmed Rukhsar — were sentenced to five years in prison for collaborating with a terrorist group. Separately, in June 2003, a German man named Christian Ganczarski was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in connection with the bombing. He was taken into custody as part of a joint intelligence operation associated with Alliance Base in Paris and was transferred to Fresnes Prison. In February 2009, Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the attack.
The victims have been formally commemorated in Tunisia. On 11 April 2012, the tenth anniversary of the bombing, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Tunisian Grand Rabbi Haim Bitan, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tunisia, and Boris Boillon, Ambassador of the French Republic to Tunisia, visited Djerba to pay their respects to the victims. Marzouki met with victims' families and delivered a speech condemning the attack and affirming the place of Tunisian Jews in Tunisian society.
A natural gas truck fitted with explosives detonated at the El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, killing 19 people and wounding more than 30 others.
Five people were arrested in Spain in connection with the bombing.
Christian Ganczarski was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in connection with the bombing and transferred to Fresnes Prison.
Enrique Cerda and Ahmed Rukhsar were sentenced to five years in prison in Spain for collaborating with a terrorist group in connection with the attack.
Christian Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing.
Tunisian and foreign officials, including President Moncef Marzouki, visited Djerba to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the attack.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Pakistani national sentenced on 10 May 2006 to five years in prison for collaborating with a terrorist group in connection with the bombing.[3]
German national arrested in June 2003 in Paris; sentenced in February 2009 to 18 years in prison for his role in the bombing.[3]
Spanish businessman sentenced on 10 May 2006 to five years in prison for collaborating with a terrorist group in connection with the bombing.[3]
Identified as the 24-year-old suicide bomber who drove the explosives-laden truck into the synagogue; died in the attack.[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
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