Ghriba synagogue bombing
Encyclopedia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
on the El Ghriba synagogue
El Ghriba synagogue
The ancient El Ghriba Synagogue, , also known as the Djerba Synagogue, is located on the Tunisian island of Djerba. It is situated in the Jewish village of Hara Seghira, , several kilometres southwest of Houmt Souk, the capital of Djerba.-History:The synagogue is the destination of an annual...
.
On April 11, 2002, a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
truck fitted with explosives drove past security barriers at the ancient Ghriba Synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
on the Tunisian island of Djerba
Djerba
Djerba , also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is, at 514 km², the largest island of North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia.-Description:...
. The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14 German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
tourists, five Tunisians, and two French nationals. More than 30 others were wounded.
Although the attack was initially called an accident, as Tunisia, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
investigated, it became clear the attack was deliberate. A 24-year-old man named Nizar Nawar
Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar
An alleged member of the Tunisian Combat Group, Nizar bin Muhammad Nasar Nawar was accused of carrying out the 2002 Ghriba synagogue bombing, after planning its execution while living in Montreal, Canada.-Life:...
was the suicide bomber, who carried out the attack with the aid of a relative. Al Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack, which was reportedly organized by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
In March 2003, five people were arrested in Spain who were believed to have financed this attack. In April 2003, a German man named Christian Ganczarski
Christian Ganczarski
Christian Ganczarski, born 1966 in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland, is a German citizen of Polish ancestry who converted to Islam. He is one of the individuals who has been described as the head of "al Qaeda in Europe"...
was arrested in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in connection with the bombing. He was arrested by a joint intelligence operation, in the frame of Alliance Base
Alliance Base
Alliance Base was the cover name for a secret Western Counterterrorist Intelligence Center that existed between 2002 and 2009 in Paris. The existence of CTICs were first revealed by Dana Priest in a November 17, 2005 Washington Post article, while she referred to the Alliance Base in a July 2,...
, which is located in Paris, and transferred to Fresnes prison
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
in Paris.
In February 2009, Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing.
A Tunisian who had been living in Canada since 1999, Niser bin Muhammad Nasar Nawar, was alleged to have planned the attack.