The Ghriba synagogue bombing was carried out by
Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar on the
El Ghriba synagogue in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
in 2002.
Bombing
On 11 April 2002, a
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
fitted with
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...
s drove past
security barriers at the ancient El Ghriba
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
on the Tunisian island of
Djerba. The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14
German tourists, three
Tunisians, and two
French nationals.
[Official Procès-Verbal, July 20th, 2002 in Tunis, El Fadel El Malki, Central Directorate of the Judicial police, The Criminal Affairs Bureau] More than 30 others were wounded.
Although the explosion was initially called an accident, as Tunisia,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
investigated, it became clear that it was a deliberate attack. A 24-year-old man named Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar 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
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaykh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born 14 April 1965), often known by his initials KSM, is a terrorist, and the former head of propaganda for the pan-Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. He ...
and
Saad bin Laden.
However, Saad's family denied he was involved in the attack.
In March 2003, five people were arrested in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in connection with the attack. On May 10, 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. In June 2003, a German man named
Christian Ganczarski was arrested at the
Charles de Gaulle airport in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in connection with the bombing. He was arrested by a joint intelligence operation, in the frame of
Alliance Base, which is located in Paris, and transferred to
Fresnes Prison in Paris. In February 2009, Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing.
Commemoration of the victims
On 11 April 2012,
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Tunisian Grand Rabbi
Haim Bitan, the
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
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 on the attack's 10th anniversary. Marzouki met with victims' families and delivered a speech where he strongly condemned this attack and reassured Tunisian Jews of their place in Tunisian society.
See also
*
List of terrorist incidents in Tunisia
*
2023 Djerba shooting
References
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21st-century attacks on Jewish institutions
2002 in Judaism
2002 murders in Tunisia
21st-century mass murder in Tunisia
Al-Qaeda attacks
Antisemitism in Tunisia
April 2002 crimes in Africa
April 2002 in Africa
2002 building bombings
Building bombings in Tunisia
Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Africa
2002 Ghriba synagogue bombing
Improvised explosive device bombings in Tunisia
Islam and antisemitism
Islamic terrorism in Tunisia
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002
Jewish Tunisian history
Mass murder in 2002
Suicide car and truck bombings in Africa
Terrorist incidents in Africa in 2002
Synagogue bombings
2002 disasters in Tunisia
Suicide bombings in 2002
Car and truck bombings in 2002
German people murdered abroad
Germany–Tunisia relations
2002 road incidents
Road incidents in Tunisia
Terrorist incidents involving vehicular attacks in Africa
Attacks on tourists in Africa
2000s vehicle-ramming attacks
Tank truck bombings