ISIS takes responsibility for Tunisia attack. Yahoo/Reuters

People gather near the morgue in Tunisa. Yahoo/Reuters.

ISIS has taken responsibility for the attack in Tunisia that killed 20 tourists. Yahoo/Reuters. In addition to three Tunisians, Japanese, Italian, British and Spanish tourists were the victims of the attack. ISIS and their affiliates took responsibility for the attack, though not directly. The attack is consistent with their tactics. In addition, the two terrorists killed in the attack, both Tunisians, are rumored to have been in both Iraq and Libya, where ISIS has a very strong presence. Thousands of Tunisians have joined up with ISIS and other extremist groups, making the country the largest source for foreign fighters in the terrorist organization. The attack has been devastating to Tunisia, which is largely dependent on tourism for its economy. In response to the attack, Tunisia is deploying its army. 

My Comment:

If this turns out to be true then it marks a new stage in the fight against ISIS. Until now ISIS has been content to limit there attacks to Iraq, Syria and Libya. If they are expanding their operations to include Al-Qaeda style attacks on Western targets then that is a very bad thing. Though Tunisa is an African nation, the primary target of this attack was not Tunisa, but international tourists. I'm not sure if ISIS has the capability to attack targets in Europe but even if they can't international tourists in areas where ISIS has presence are at risk. I'd avoid traveling to the Middle East or North Africa for the time being. Which is exactly what Tunisia does not want to hear.  

But is it true? My guess is that it is. ISIS has taken responsibility for such attacks before, but I think in this case it was them. Largely because ISIS has so many fighters from Tunisia. Other terrorist organizations do not have nearly as many. That isn't conclusive evidence, but it is circumstantial evidence. Even if ISIS didn't do it though, this is still a propaganda victory for them. Much like the Charlie Hebdo attack, which only had tangential ISIS involvement, this attack demonstrates that radical Islamic terrorism is on the march. It also shows that western targets are not invincible. 

So what can be done about these kinds of attacks? Not a whole lot unfortunately. Like I said before, these kinds of attacks are cheap, effective and safe from disruption. You only need a couple of guys with rifles to execute one of these attacks. ISIS has no shortage of fighters, most of whom would not care if their attack was a suicide mission. The only way to really prevent these attacks is to prevent the people that want to carry them out from entering your country. Preventing ISIS fighters from returning home or arresting them as soon as they try would be a huge step. The other tactic would be to kill them in their training camps. That isn't really viable since there are so many of them. Plus ISIS could use the strikes as a further recruiting tool. 

Another option is arming civilians. Concealed carry can't prevent these kinds of attacks but it is possible that they could lessen the impact. True, the civilians would be outgunned but at least they would have a chance. If nothing else it would turn these "soft target" attacks into hard target attacks.