Article:
Editor's Note: On Friday, Feb. 6. 2015, ISIS said the hostage was killed by a Jordanian airstrike.

 With ISIS’s brutal murder of Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old American aid worker who dedicated his life to the plight of Syrian refugees, the militant group has one more U.S. citizen remaining in its clutches, according to current and former U.S. officials, as well as individuals involved in efforts to free the Americans.

 The hostage is the only American woman held by the militant group. She is the same age as Kassig, and, like him, was kidnapped while trying to help people whose lives have been upended by the long Syrian civil war. She was particularly moved to help children who have been orphaned and separated from their families. The woman was taken in August 2013, along with a group of other aid workers who have reportedly been released.

 U.S. officials and the woman’s family have requested that her name not be made public, fearing that further attention will put her in greater jeopardy. No news organization has published her name. But the general circumstances of her capture and captivity have been known and widely reported for more than a year now.

 ISIS’s intentions for its remaining American prisoner are unclear. But current and former U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that it was notable she doesn’t appear at the end of a video, released Sunday, that shows the aftermath of Kassig’s beheading. That breaks with ISIS’s pattern of showing the next hostage it intends to kill.

 ISIS has killed Muslim women, as well as children. But it has never murdered a female Western hostage on camera. Doing so would mark a radical departure even for a group that has relied on bloody propaganda to lure foreign fighters to its ranks.

 A former U.S. counterterrorism official said that before ISIS decides what to do with its remaining American hostage, it will consider carefully the public reaction it could spark. “Before they’re doing anything, they want to have a really good feel for how it will play,” the former official said.

 ISIS has reportedly demanded more than $6 million for the remaining American hostage’s freedom, a figure in keeping with the impossibly high ransoms it has placed on other U.S. citizens it has held. The Obama administration has a firm policy of not paying ransom for hostages and has even advised the families of Americans held in Syria that they could be criminally prosecuted if they paid for their loved ones’ releases. (ISIS has freed European citizens, however, from countries where ransoms aren’t illegal.)

 The fact that ISIS requests any ransom for its American prisoners and makes it too high for most people to pay indicates that the group isn’t really serious about freeing the Americans, according to current and former U.S. officials and hostage-negotiation experts. Instead, the hostages are being used as props in ISIS’s global propaganda campaign, which is largely aimed at recruiting new followers. Viewed through that lens, ISIS’s American and British captives (the U.K. likewise has an official ban on ransoms) have been more useful to the group for its videos than in raising money, even though ransoms are an important source of ISIS’s income.

 The latest ISIS video, showing Kassig’s death, had been expected ever since he was first shown on camera in early October, in another beheading video, and identified as the militant group’s next victim. But this new film differs in key respects from its predecessors, and it may offer new insights into ISIS’s propaganda strategy—and its weaknesses.

 The latest video is uncharacteristically long, clocking in at more than 16 minutes, as opposed to the earlier two- to three-minute films showing hostages being murdered. The new video is filled with breathless celebration of the rise of the so-called Islamic State and an exhortation to its followers to join in armed struggle against the “crusader” forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Indeed, it seems rather desperate in its chest-thumping. It’s also remarkably more brutal—though not to American hostages. A parade of knife-wielding ISIS fighters behead 18 captives, described as Syrian military officers and pilots, in a ghoulish display filled with slow-motion effects and ominous music. It’s by far the most grisly depiction of beheadings ever shown by ISIS.

 Kassig is shown only near the end of the video, already beheaded. Unlike other hostages who have read (presumably coerced) statements denouncing the U.S.-led airstrikes, Kassig is never shown speaking. His killer alludes to the fact that he had “little to say” and that other American captives killed before him had already spoken out against the Obama administration. Several current and former U.S. officials speculated that Kassig, who converted to Islam while in captivity and adopted the name Abdul Rahman, might have defied his captors by refusing to read their script or even have insisted on reciting passages from the Quran. “I suspect that Pete knew this was coming and that he refused to talk,” said one individual who has been involved with efforts to free American hostages.

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 Kassig’s parents had made his conversion to Islam, which they described as genuine and profound, a central pillar of their highly public efforts to free him. The Kassigs, of Indiana, had given television interviews about their son, made YouTube videos pleading with ISIS for his release, and held prayer vigils with members of the American Muslim community. At every turn, they described their son as a faithful follower who had dedicated his life to easing the suffering of innocents.

 In a statement Sunday, Kassig’s parents said their son was “fed by a strong desire to use his life to save the lives of others” and that he “was drawn to the camps that are filled with displaced families and to understaffed hospitals inside Syria. We know he found his home amongst the Syrian people, and he hurt when they were hurting.”

 President Obama, also in a statement, called Kassig by his chosen Muslim name and contrasted his charity and self-sacrifice with the “darkness” of ISIS. Secretary of State John Kerry called Kassig “a young American who personified the values of altruism and compassion which are the very essence of his adopted religion of Islam.”

 ISIS’s long-winded video recites chapter and verse the historic roots of the group, from its early days in Iraq fighting U.S. forces in 2004, and seeks to position the rise of ISIS as an inevitable development in a grand battle against the “crusaders.” The video also argues that ISIS is collecting followers across the Middle East, even as far east as China.

 ISIS has a reason to buck up its forces and make itself seem invincible: U.S. airstrikes against the group are starting to yield some results. On Saturday, Iraqi ground forces, supported by American aircraft, took back an important oil refinery in Baiji, about 130 miles north of Baghdad, that ISIS had seized. (Illicit oil revenue has been a major source of the group’s funding.) And the U.S. has been closing in on ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, though efforts to kill him and his followers have been frustrated by ISIS’s use of encryption to shield its communications from American surveillance efforts.

 Still, the video is a reminder of how feckless U.S. efforts to free American hostages have become. Insiders have said the process has been marred by bureaucratic turf wars and a refusal by the United States to negotiate with ISIS, which has freed European hostages in exchange for ransom.

 The State Department and the White House have been opposed to paying ransoms, but the FBI and the Justice Department have taken a more nuanced position, according to people involved in the efforts. In particular, the FBI told the parents of James Foley, the first American whom ISIS killed on camera, that they could “walk us right up to that point” of paying a ransom but not be directly involved in exchanging funds, Diane Foley, James’s mother, told The Daily Beast last month.

 The FBI has facilitated the payment of a ransom for American hostages before, most notably in 2002, for the release of two Christian missionaries, Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were held by an al Qaeda affiliate in the Philippines. A former U.S. official said the FBI took steps to obscure its role and that the terrorists never knew the U.S. government was involved in the ransom effort.

 More recently, a ransom allegedly was paid to free American journalist Peter Theo Curtis in August from al-Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, according to two sources with direct knowledge of Curtis’s case. Suspicion has focused on the government of Qatar, which has strong ties to Nusra, as the source of the money.

 A spokesperson for the State Department has denied that the United States paid a ransom, and administration officials told the Qataris they shouldn’t pay one, either. FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said that the bureau fully complies with U.S. policy as it relates to ransom payments. According to individuals familiar with the matter, Nusra may have hoped that by negotiating for Curtis’s release, it would demonstrate to the United States that it wasn’t as extreme as ISIS and could engage in a reasonable dialogue.

 Those hopes might be dashed, however, by U.S. airstrikes in Syria, which have hit Nusra positions, provoking the group’s wrath. Prior to the bombing campaign, which began in September, U.S. intelligence officials warned not to hit the Nusra group, which occasionally has fought alongside U.S.-backed rebels in Syria. Now Nusra is forging an alliance with ISIS, an outcome that had once been considered unthinkable because of a deep schism between ISIS and al Qaeda over the future of the Islamist movement.

 How that might effect the Westerners still held in Syria is unknown. The-26 year-old aid worker being held by ISIS isn’t the only one. Freelance journalist Austin Tice was abducted in Syria more than two years ago. The Obama administration has claimed that Tice was held by the Syrian government. But this claim has never been verified and who holds him now is unclear. ||||| BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has beheaded Peter Kassig, releasing a video Sunday showing a masked militant standing over the severed head of a man it said was the former U.S. Army Ranger-turned-aid worker, who was seized while delivering relief supplies in Syria last year.

 This still image taken from an undated video published on the Internet by the Islamic State group militants and made available, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, purports to show extremists marching Syrian soldiers... (Associated Press)

 This undated photo provided by the Kassig Family shows Peter Kassig delivering supplies for Syrian refugees. A new graphic video purportedly produced by Islamic State militants in Syria released Sunday... (Associated Press)

 In this undated photo provided by the Kassig family, Peter Kassig, is shown with his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, a co-founder of Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, was an... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this August 2013 file photo provided by the Kassig Family, Peter Kissig, who friends and family say changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, right, works as a medic to help a wounded man near... (Associated Press)

 FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Kassig Family shows Peter Kassig standing in front of a truck filled with supplies for Syrian refugees. A new graphic video purportedly produced by Islamic... (Associated Press)

 President Barack Obama confirmed Kassig's slaying after a U.S. review of the video, which also showed the mass beheadings of a dozen Syrian soldiers.

 The 26-year-old Kassig, who founded an aid group to help Syrians caught in their country's brutal civil war, "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity," Obama said in a statement.

 He denounced the extremist group, which he said "revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction."

 The slain hostage's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, said they were "heartbroken" by their son's killing, but "incredibly proud" of his humanitarian work.

 Kassig "lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering," the parents said in a statement from Indianapolis, where a vigil was held Sunday for the slain American. His parents attended the vigil.

 With Kassig's death, the Islamic State group has killed five Westerners it was holding. American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded, as were British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

 Unlike previous videos of slain Western hostages, the footage released Sunday did not show the decapitation of Kassig or the moments leading up to his death.

 "This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen ... who fought against the Muslims in Iraq," said the black-clad militant, who spoke with a British accent that was distorted in the video, apparently to disguise his identity. Previous videos featured a militant with a British accent that the FBI says it has identified, though it hasn't named him publicly.

 The footage released Sunday identifies the militants' location as Dabiq, a town in northern Syria that the Islamic State group uses as the title of its English-language propaganda magazine and where they believe an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and their enemies will occur.

 The high-definition video also showed the beheadings of about a dozen men identified as Syrian military officers and pilots, all dressed in blue jumpsuits. The black-clad militant warns that U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.

 "We say to you, Obama: You claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago," the militant said. "Here you are: You have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies." A U.S.-led coalition is targeting the Islamic State group in airstrikes, supporting Western-backed Syrian rebels, Kurdish fighters and the Iraqi military.

 Kassig, who served in the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit, deployed to Iraq in 2007. After being medically discharged, he returned to the Middle East in 2012 and formed a relief group, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, to aid Syrian refugees.

 A certified EMT, Kassig had delivered food and medical supplies and provided trauma care to wounded Syrians before being captured in eastern Syria on Oct. 1, 2013. Friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and took the first name Abdul-Rahman.

 In a statement issued as he flew back to Washington from the Asia-Pacific region, Obama said Kassig "was a humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed" by war. The president offered prayers and condolences to Kassig's family.

 "We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time," he said.

 Burhan Agha, a Syrian who worked with Kassig in Lebanon, wept when recounting his friend's humanitarian work.

 "If I could apologize to each American, one by one, I would, because Peter died in Syria, while he was helping the Syrian people," Agha told The Associated Press by telephone from Switzerland, where he is seeking asylum. "Those who killed him claimed to have done it in the name of Islam. I am a Muslim and am from Syria. ... (His killers) are not Muslims."

 British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold-blooded murder," saying that the Islamic State group had "again shown their depravity."

 In previous videos showing the beheadings of the two American journalists and two British aid workers, the hostages were shown kneeling in orange jumpsuits as they were forced to make speeches before their killer lifted a knife to their throats.

 The latest video did not show Kassig being beheaded. And unlike previous videos, it did not show other Western captives or directly threaten to behead anyone else. It also had lingering close-ups on some militants' exposed faces, a few of whom appeared to be foreigners.

 The video appeared on websites used in the past by the Islamic State group, which now controls a third of Syria and Iraq.

 The terror group still holds other captives, including British photojournalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in several videos delivering statements for the IS, likely under duress, and a 26-year-old American woman captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety.

 The video appeared to be part of continuous efforts to strike at the U.S., which is leading an aerial campaign against the group that began in August in Iraq and spread to Syria the following month.

 The video came two days after a recording by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was uploaded to the Internet. The militant leader warned that the U.S.-led coalition's campaign had failed and it would eventually have to send ground troops into battle.

 The group has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate in areas under its control, which it governs according to its violent interpretation of Shariah law, including massacring rebellious tribes and selling women and children of religious minorities into slavery.

 The group's militants have also beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives, mostly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers, during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.

 The Islamic State group has its roots in al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate but was expelled from the global terror network over its brutal tactics and refusal to obey orders to confine its activities to Iraq. It became even more extreme amid the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria and grew strong enough to launch a lightning offensive across Iraq.

 Syria's war began as an uprising against President Bashar Assad. Activists say that conflict has killed more than 200,000 people.

 ___

 Associated Press writers Julie Pace in Brisbane, Australia, David Aguilar in Detroit, Jon Gambrell in Cairo, Vivian Salama in Baghdad and Josh Lederman aboard Air Force One contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "The 26-year-old American was captured last year"

 A video posted online claims to show that Islamic State militants have killed the captured US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

 The video shows a masked man standing over a severed head which he says is that of Mr Kassig.

 The US says it is working to determine the authenticity of the video, which also shows a mass beheading of 18 Syrian troops.

 Mr Kassig, also known as Peter, was captured last year.

 His family, who live in the US state of Indiana, said they were awaiting confirmation of the reports about their "treasured son".

 "We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause," the family said in a statement.

 Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner: "This is an act of desperation"

 This is perhaps the most elaborate and graphic of all the murder videos posted online by IS. Much of it is taken up with a recent history lesson on Iraq and Syria as seen through the eyes of the jihadists. But the latter part shows the beheading of 18 Syrian prisoners in revolting, lingering detail.

 Unlike earlier videos, this one revels in gore. Amongst the boiler-suited captives murdered in cold blood is a man IS says is the former US soldier Peter Kassig, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman.

 Neither his conversion, nor the fact that he was helping refugees when he was captured a year ago, appear to have saved him.

 Mr Kassig's murder is a sign of frustration that IS militants are unable to hit back at the coalition air strikes that have driven them off key sites like the Mosul and Haditha dams, and prevented them from seizing the town of Kobane.

 An idealist 'simply trying to help people'

 Abdul-Rahman Kassig in his own words

 Unlike similar videos released in the past, the latest shows the faces of many of the jihadis. It also at one point gives a specific location - near Dabiq in Aleppo province, with an identifiable village in the background.

 The latest video did not show the person identified as Mr Kassig being beheaded. Also unlike previous videos, it did not show other Western captives or directly threaten to behead anyone else.

 The US National Security Council said it was investigating the video, and would be "appalled by the brutal murder" if it was confirmed.

 IS has previously murdered four Western hostages - British men Alan Henning and David Haines, and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

 Those killings were carried out by a man believed to be British. That man bears a resemblance to one of the masked militants pictured in the video purporting to show Mr Kassig.

 Image copyright EPA Image caption Parents Ed and Paula Kassig have said they are awaiting confirmation of the reports

 British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold-blooded murder" and that Islamic State had "again shown their depravity".

 Emotional letter

 Image copyright Handout Image caption A photograph of Abdul-Rahman with his father, Ed, fishing on the Ohio River in Indiana in 2011

 Mr Kassig's parents last month released extracts of a letter written by their son, in which he said the "stress and fear" of captivity were "incredible".

 "They tell us you have abandoned us and/or don't care but of course we know you are doing everything you can and more.

 "Don't worry Dad, if I do go down, I won't go thinking anything but what I know to be true. That you and mom love me more than the moon and the stars."

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former hostage Nicholas Henin spoke to the BBC about Mr Kassig in October

 Mr Kassig was a former US Army Ranger who served in Iraq.

 He later trained as an emergency medical technician and founded the Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera) organisation, helping to supply camps on both sides of the Syrian border.

 He was undertaking a project for Sera when he was captured in October 2013 while travelling to eastern Syria.

 The exiled leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, said in a statement Mr Kassig would be remembered as a hero.

 "Kassig paid the ultimate sacrifice trying to relieve the suffering of his fellow human beings far away from home. The thugs of Isis will pay the price for their evil crimes," he said. |||||Summary:

– ISIS has beheaded another hostage, but while the outcome is grimly familiar, analysts say the video revealing the death of Peter Kassig has differences that hint at serious problems for the militant group. Unlike four earlier videos showing the execution of Western hostages, the quality is poor, Kassig is not seen reading a statement, and no other hostage is displayed. Instead, only the American's severed head is shown. Analysts suspect that the threat of airstrikes stopped the militants from being able to film outside for long. "The likeliest possibility is that something went wrong when they were beheading him," an expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tells the New York Times. Another possibility, he says, is that Kassig resisted and the "media-savvy" militants were unable to get the video they wanted. Other analysts speculate that the hostage—who converted to Islam while in captivity—may have chosen to recite quotes from the Koran instead of his captors' script. More: Kassig, a former US Army Ranger, founded an organization to aid refugees from the Syrian civil war. His parents say they are heartbroken by the killing but incredibly proud of his work, the AP reports. He "lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering," his parents, who live in Indianapolis, said in a statement. The latest ISIS video, which also shows the execution of 18 Syrian captives in "revolting, lingering detail," is also different because it shows the faces of many militants and gives a specific location in Syria, notes BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner. He calls Kassig's execution an "act of desperation" carried out by the group because it is unable to fight back against coalition airstrikes. With Kassig dead, ISIS' only remaining American hostage is a 26-year-old woman, security officials tell the Daily Beast. Like Kassig, she was kidnapped while carrying out aid work. Her name has not been made public and officials say it is significant that she doesn't appear in the group's latest video—and while it's not clear what the militants have planned for her, even ISIS is likely to carefully consider the public reaction to killing a female Western captive on camera.


89-year-old woman fights off sword wielding robber with golf club

 MOSES LAKE, Wash.— An 89-year-old storeowner used a golf club to fight-off a robbery suspect who was armed with a sword Sunday morning in Moses Lake.

 Police said the suspect entered Frank’s Superette with a sword. He managed to get away with a cash register and rode-off on a BMX bike according to witnesses.

 During the ordeal, the storeowner said she struck the man with a golf club. Her son said she was not injured and later recovered the cash register.

 The owner, Miyo Koba, had owned the business for 60 years.

 Koba said she found the man standing behind the cash register on Sunday.

 “I had the scissors in my hand like this, and he was trying to open the till, and he said, ‘Open the till!’ I said, “No I'm not going to open the till for you’, and I said, ‘If you don't get your hands of the till, I'm gonna stab you with the scissors.’ But I didn't. I didn't have the nerve to stab him,” said Koba.

 Koba said the man became irritated after she would not help him get money out of the register for him.

 “He started pounding on the register trying to open it because I wouldn’t do it for him,” said Koba. “He pulled out his little sword out of his little jacket, and he just kind of waved it a little bit.”

 Police said the blade of the sword extended three feet.

 “I didn't feel threatened. It just probably made me a little bit more brave,” said Koba.

 Koba said the man pushed her slightly to get away.

 “I fell down here and so I got into a sitting position. I got into a sitting position and I found the club so I went tried to swing this club at him and I tried to hit his head a couple times but I couldn't reach it,” said Koba.

 Koba said she hit the man’s legs.

 Koba said the suspect apparently took off his clothing after leaving the store. Koba said the man was tall and slender, wearing a ski mask and dark sunglasses. Police said they recovered the man’s clothing later.

 “He must have been running around in his underwear and no shoes because that's what they said, they found all his clothes,” said Koba.

 Police were still searching for the man on Tuesday. If you have any information on the suspect you are asked to call Moses Lake Police.

  ||||| Beating by proprietor prompted suspect to drop cash register, run off, police said.

 Miyo Koba, an 89-year-old store owner in Spokane, Wash., used a golf club to beat off a suspected robber who wielded a sword. (Photo: KREM-TV, Spokane)

 An 89-year-old store owner in Washington state used a golf club to beat off a suspected robber who wielded a sword, prompting the suspect to drop the stolen cash register as he made away on a bicycle, according to police and published reports.

 Police in the 21,000-population city of Moses Lake say owner Miyo Koba was inside Frank's Superette on Sunday morning when a tall, slender male wearing a ski mask and dark glasses swooped in. Koba has owned the store in this community between Seattle and Spokane for 60 years, and kept it up even after her husband died, police said. Her store is popular among local high school students and is a block and a half from the school, police said.

 When Koba found the suspect standing behind the cash register Sunday, she set about a campaign of aggression. Police describe Koba as a small woman who weighs no more than 125 pounds.

 "I had the scissors in my hand like this, and he was trying to open the till, and he said, 'Open the till!'" Koba said, giving KREM-TV/Spokane, blow-by-blow details. "I said, 'No, I'm not going to open the till for you,' and I said, 'If you don't get your hands off the till, I'm going to stab you with my scissors.'"

 Koba admitted she didn't have the nerve to stab the suspect, but her tactics apparently had an effect. The suspect became unnerved when Koba would not open the register, Koba told KREM.

 "He started pounding on the register trying to open it," Koba said.

 "He pulled out his little sword out of his little jacket, and he just kind of waved it a little bit," she told KREM. Police said the "little" sword was 3-feet-long.

 The suspect pushed Koba, and she fell, spotting the golf club, she said.

 "I … tried to swing this club at him, and I tried to hit his head a couple of times, but I couldn't reach it," Koba told the news organization.

 No matter. She went for his legs, swinging and hitting them.

 The man escaped on a bicycle, cash register and sword in hand, according to KREM, but police said Koba later recovered the register nearby with the money still in it.

 The man apparently stripped after he left the store because police later found his clothing, according to KREM.

 Police said they are continuing the investigation.

 Koba said the would-be robber with the "little" sword never fazed her.

 "I didn't feel threatened," she told KREM. "It just probably made me a little more brave."

 Read or Share this story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/27/golf-club-store-sword/9652891/ |||||

Write a summary.

– Strange enough that a would-be robber of a small-town store in Washington state used a sword as his weapon of choice and a bicycle as his getaway vehicle. But what truly elevates the story is that the store's owner, an 89-year-old widow, just wasn't having it, reports USA Today. Miyo Koba of Moses Lake tells KREM-TV that she refused the robber's demand to open the register and instead threatened him with scissors. When he pushed her away and she fell, she spotted a golf club. "I ... tried to swing this club at him and I tried to hit his head a couple times but I couldn't reach it,” she says. She then started bashing him in the legs, rattling him enough that he fled with the register. Or tried to anyway. It's apparently difficult to ride a bike while carrying one, not to mention a sword, and police recovered it near the scene, still full of money. (Click to read about a rowdy rodeo attendee who ended up getting lassoed, then arrested.)


Here is a news article: The girl has had regular visits with her out-of-state relatives for some time now, Heimov said. In Utah, she will live with one of her biological sisters. Another sister lives within walking distance, Heimov said.

 "There are two families that love her," she said. "The court has made a decision. We need to follow the law, and we need to enforce the court orders."

 In a statement, Philip Browning, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said that "when a court makes an order, we must follow it."

 On Monday, a hush fell over the crowd of protesters when social workers came to the Pages' front door. A few silent minutes passed before the door was finally opened.

 Rusty Page carried the youngster outside. The girl, wearing a pink shirt and a braid in her hair, clutched a brown teddy bear. Placed in the backseat of a social worker's car, she cried.

 Page said that he was ordered by the court not to discuss the situation with the girl and that she had no idea she would be taken away. The protesters gathered a few houses away so she wouldn't hear or see them. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| A 6-year-old girl was removed from the California home of the foster family she has lived with for four years because she has a tiny sliver of Native American heritage — despite resistance from her foster parents and their tens of thousands of supporters.

 Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, have long fought to gain custody of Lexi, 6, who is 1.56 percent Choctaw Native American. That figure means that Lexi's home placement is dictated by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.

 Rusty Page carries Lexi while Summer Page, in the background, cries as members of family services, left, arrive to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., on March 21. David Crane / Los Angeles Daily News via AP

 That law "seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families," according to its own language.

 The child's birth parents struggled with substance abuse, according to court documents. Her father, who had a criminal history, never lived on a Choctaw reservation and didn't have any social, political, or cultural ties to the tribe, according to the court documents. But officials determined that Lexi is 1/64th Choctaw based on his ancestry.

 Lexi was placed with the Pages — who have three other children — in December 2011 after two unsuccessful foster homes, including one where she was taken out of because of a black eye and a scrape on her face, the court documents said.

 In 2011, "extended" family in Utah became aware that Lexi was with a foster family and expressed "interest in adopting" her, according to the documents. The documents said that Lexi is related to the Utah couple, who are not Native American, through her step-grandfather.

 The California Court of Appeals originally ruled in August of 2014 that Lexi could stay with the Pages and they could continue to fight the Utah family for custody of the child.

 But a decision earlier this month ordered the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LA DCFS) to place Lexi with the Utah family "in accordance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act," the department said in response to inquiries about Lexi's case.

 In the days after losing their legal battle, the Pages addressed an online petition called "Keep Lexi Home" to several California and LA DCFS officials.

 "There is a 6-year-old little girl who is going to be ripped away from the only family that she has ever known. Her name is Lexi," the petition said. "To Lexi this family is her everything — her mommy, daddy and brother and sisters." By Monday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition.

 Dozens of supporters also surrounded the Page's home Monday in an attempt to block LA DCFS officers. Many of those gathered had been camped out in the street — singing and praying — since Sunday, when the officers were originally expected to arrive.

 Their efforts weren't successful.

 Lexi was taken from the Page home on Monday afternoon, Armand Montiel, a public affairs director with LA DCFS, told NBC News.

 The emotional scene played out on a Facebook live stream — watched by more that 1,000 people — which showed a teary child, wearing a pink shirt and grasping a teddy bear while Rusty Page carried her out of the home and loaded into a black sedan as his wife wailed "I love you Lexi" from the driveway.

 They are taking her! Live footage on our Facebook page. — Save Lexi (@SaveOurLexi) March 21, 2016

 "They fought for you," supporters screamed at the car, as officers prepared to pull away. "The Page family loves you."

 "Our family is so incredibly devastated. Our hearts are broken and we are trying to make sense of everything that has happened with our three other children who witnessed their sister Lexi forcefully ripped away from our family by strangers," the Page family said in a statement Monday night.

 "But nobody could possibly be more devastated than our 6-year-old daughter who found herself restrained in a car and driven away to go and live in a foreign place hundreds of miles from her family, friends, teachers, home and life," the statement said.

 The Page's lawyer said in a statement Sunday that they had been willing to offer the Utah family visitation rights, but they "never responded to offers of compromise."

 "They are not interested in anything except full custody, and they are not thinking about this little girl's best interests," the lawyer's statement said.

 The LA DCFS said in a statement that the department always seeks to act in the best interest of the children it serves. "Often there are no easy solutions, but when a court makes an order, we must follow it," said the department's director, Philip Browning.

 The National Indian Child Welfare Association argues that the decision to re-place Lexi was the right one because "the purpose of foster care is to provide temporary care for children ... not to fast-track the creation of new families when there is extended family available who want to care for the child."

 "The foster family was well aware years ago this girl is an Indian child, whose case is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act," the National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement.

 "The Pages were always aware that the goal was to place Lexi with her family, and her permanent placement has been delayed due to the Pages' opposition to the Indian Child Welfare Act," the Choctaw Nation echoed in a statement. "We believe that following the Choctaw Nation's values is in Lexi's best interest." ||||| Graham, center, and Lena Kelly, rear, Lexi's foster aunt and uncle, break down on the street after family services came to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., Monday, March... (Associated Press)

 Graham, center, and Lena Kelly, rear, Lexi's foster aunt and uncle, break down on the street after family services came to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., Monday, March 21, 2016. Lexi, who spent most of her life with California foster parents, was removed from her home... (Associated Press)

 LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California family appealed Tuesday to the state's highest court in their fight to keep a 6-year-old foster child who was removed from their home after a lower court said her 1/64th Native American bloodline requires that she live with relatives.

 The family's lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, filed the request for the California Supreme Court to hear the appeal.

 McGill also requested that custody of the child named Lexi be returned to Rusty and Summer Page until the appeal is decided.

 The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family.

 However, a court found that the Pages have not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer.

 The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. Her mother had substance abuse problems, and her father had a criminal history, according to court records.

 Dozens of cases involving foster families have gone to court around the country after the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s.

 Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame.

 Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday as Rusty Page carried her out of his home near Los Angeles and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car.

 "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio.

 A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns.

 Under the transfer, Lexi will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father.

 The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives.

 "The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together," Heimov told the Los Angeles Daily News (http://bit.ly/1pYtXlg ).

 She said Lexi and the Utah family had traded messages and had monthly visits during the past three years.

 "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form."

 The National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement that the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to "drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child."

 The Choctaw Nation said it "desires the best for this Choctaw child."

 In 2015, the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued guidance on implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act — clarifying that tribes alone are responsible for determining who is a member.

 Wenona Singel, a law professor at Michigan State University, said membership requirements vary among tribes, with some being more restrictive than others.

 "The issue is not what degree of Choctaw ancestry a child has," Singel said. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship."

 Singel is a member of a tribe in Michigan.

 There is still considerable disagreement over the application of the law and whether it serves children's best interest, said Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School.

 Once a child is placed with a Native American family, it is highly unlikely that the decision would be reversed, he added.

 "It would be fairly extraordinary for an appeals court to reverse that," he said.

 ___

 Associated Press writer Christine Armario contributed to this report. ||||| Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978

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 The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian/Alaska Native families. Congress passed ICWA in 1978 in response to the alarmingly high number of Indian children being removed from their homes by both public and private agencies. The intent of Congress under ICWA was to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families" (25 U.S.C. § 1902). ICWA sets federal requirements that apply to state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.

 ICWA is an integral policy framework on which tribal child welfare programs rely. It provides a structure and requirements for how public and private child welfare agencies and state courts view and conduct their work to serve tribal children and families. It also acknowledges and promotes the role that tribal governments play in supporting tribal families, both on and off tribal lands. However, as is the case with many laws, proper implementation of ICWA requires vigilance, resources, and advocacy.

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 If you have questions regarding an ICWA case or other Indian child welfare issues, please review the following online resources and the Frequently Asked Questions before contacting the NICWA office. Please be aware that NICWA cannot provide any legal advice. Also note that NICWA is not a direct service provider. We do not provide case management. If you contact us, our staff will do our best to answer your questions within a reasonable timeframe and direct you toward helpful resources.

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 Many families benefit from having a lawyer on their case. Under ICWA, parents and Indian custodians are entitled to have the court appoint them an attorney if they can't afford one. Families can also look up legal aid offices that can provide free or low-cost legal help by going here and entering their zip code. You can also find a list of legal aid offices that specialize in Indian law topics like ICWA here.

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 NICWA strives to support tribal governments in these efforts, especially where tribes do not have the resources or information to respond as they would like. NICWA can partner with tribes to effectively address ICWA compliance; through our relationships with key policymakers, state and federal officials, media representatives, and non-Indian organizations, we provide tribes with additional resources to address the systemic issues that arise in ICWA implementation. Below are some of the services that NICWA can provide tribes and their partners to assist in the proper implementation of ICWA.

 Training about the basic legal requirements and social work practice tips on how to best implement the law in both social service and court settings. Development of tribal-specific program models to help tribes increase their capacity to respond effectively in ICWA cases and increase their ability to provide care for their member children and families. Enhance tribal-state relations through technical assistance to develop intergovernmental agreements and contracts as well as to identify opportunities for collaboration with state agencies and contracted providers. Increase knowledge of existing funding opportunities and the steps needed to secure federal funding to support child and family related services. This includes strategies tribes can use for adapting federal requirements while maintaining compliance and emphasizing tribal cultural practices. Advocate for policy solutions, legislative and regulatory, to implementation problems that practitioners experience while implementing ICWA. Provide case consultation to tribal family members, agencies, social work practitioners, attorneys, and courts on the proper implementation of ICWA in particular cases. Monitor and consult with tribal litigants in precedent-setting cases in state and federal courts that are reviewing ICWA policy and implementation. Follow media accounts of ICWA implementation and provide reliable and accurate information about the law. NICWA provides a national perspective of ICWA implementation through op-eds, news articles, media interviews and content, research for media outlets, and support of tribal efforts to address media requests for information on specific cases or program issues. Assist tribes and states in the development and implementation of ICWA data gathering and evaluation efforts. Provide regular updates to tribal leadership and representatives at national and regional tribal organizations to keep Indian Country’s leadership apprised of the most current information on ICWA and strategize about appropriate solutions to address challenges.

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A summary of this is?

– A 6-year-old California girl whose birth parents were plagued by substance abuse and criminal infractions was taken in at age 2 by a foster family. But Alexandria (aka Lexi) is also 1/64th Choctaw Native American, which means where she ends up is dictated by 1978's Indian Child Welfare Act—a law that "seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families." Rusty and Summer Page had long fought to retain custody of Lexi, but on Monday the girl was removed from their home by the LA Department of Child & Family Services, NBC News reports. "Our family is so incredibly devastated," the Pages said in a statement, "but nobody could possibly be more devastated than our 6-year-old daughter." By court order, the Pages weren't allowed to tell Lexi beforehand she'd be taken, the Los Angeles Times reports. Lexi is now with a Utah couple related by marriage to Lexi's biological dad, who has Choctaw blood but has never lived on a reservation himself. The move came after "reunification efforts" with Lexi's biological dad went south, and he, the tribe, and DCFS recommended Lexi go to Utah—even though that couple is "non-Indian" and Summer Page actually does have "American Indian heritage," per the Pages' Change.org petition. The National Indian Child Welfare Association says in a statement that foster care is meant to be "temporary," not to "fast-track the creation of new families when there is extended family available"; a Choctaw Nation statement says the Pages always knew the goal was to place Lexi with "family." On Tuesday, the Pages appealed to California's highest court to reverse the decision, reports the AP. (This London mom sued NYC after her child was put in foster care.)


Article:
Family hopes for trekker’s return in time for wedding anniversary

 The family hopes Lee and Jennifer will be able to celebrate their second wedding anniversary on Saturday. — Photo courtesy of Lee’s family PETALING JAYA, April 16 — The family of Dennis Lee Thian Poh, who went missing during a trek in Ampurna, Nepal, on April 5, hopes he will return in time for his second wedding anniversary on Saturday.

 An email from a family friend said the family was anxious about finding Lee, a 47-year-old businessman from Kuala Lumpur, as weather conditions in the Himalayas worsen.

 ‘’Dennis and his wife Jennifer (Eileen Peters) will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on Saturday. The family hopes they will be able to celebrate this special day together,” said the woman, who declined to be named.

 Search efforts in Nepal have intensified with rescue teams combing the areas between Khopra and Bayeli as well as Dobasto and Tadatani.

 SAR Dogs Nepal, an independent Nepali search-and-rescue team, posted photographs of poor weather conditions from their base camp in Bayeli.

 “The weather is still bad. Thick fog forces our teams to work carefully,’’ said the team via its Twitter account on Tuesday.

 Lee’s family has also urged experienced volunteers to help with on-ground search efforts.

 “We have engaged SAR Dogs Nepal who are doing a fantastic job alongside many villagers and Sherpas. But this is not enough,” said the family in a statement on Sunday.

 ‘’We need more people on the ground to help us cover such a vast area. If you can give us any clues to his whereabouts and help him return to his children, his wife, his family and his friends, you would have created a miracle.”

 Lee, an avid trekker, arrived in Kathmandu on March 28 for a hiking trip with eight friends and was scheduled to return last Friday.

 He was last seen between Ghorepani and Ghundrung on the afternoon of April 5, as the group made their descent from Khopra Danda, heading to Bayeli.

 Initial reports said Lee was walking alone, ahead of his group. Rescuers later clarified that although Lee was ahead, he was trailing behind the group’s porters.

 Once at their campsite in Bayeli, the other hikers realised Lee had not reached the campsite and the porters had not seen him.

 A search party was set up on April 7, and his wife flew to Nepal the next day to help coordinate the rescue team comprising professional rescuers, local police and villagers.

 Those who are able to help in Nepal may contact rescuers at +977 9856025679 or email any information to finddennis@yahoo.com.

 Lee’s friends have also set up a Facebook page called Find Dennis for the public to share information or express their support. ||||| Daily Life

 Dog Team Races To Rescue Lost Hiker In The Himalayas

 itoggle caption Courtesy of SAR Dogs Nepal

 The night before he disappeared, Dennis Lee Thian Poh called his wife in Kuala Lumpur. They chatted about the bitter cold in Nepal's Annapurna range and he said that dinner in his small lodge had consisted, yet again, of vegetable fried rice.

 Lee, 47, had been hiking for six days in Nepal's most visited trekking zone, the Annapurna Conservation Area.

 The next morning, Lee told the eight other trekkers in his group that he was going to walk ahead of them, catch up with their porters and then meet up at lunchtime. As of April 15, Lee has been missing for 11 days.

 i itoggle caption Donatella Lorch for NPR Donatella Lorch for NPR

 "He has always wanted, for the longest time, to go to Nepal," says his wife, Jennifer Peters-Lee, who flew to Nepal to follow the search at a town in the Annapurna area.

 Dennis had had second thoughts about the trek, Jennifer says. He was uncertain about leaving her to juggle her job and his two teenage daughters from his earlier marriage, one of whom has autism. But Jennifer, who's not a hiker, had assured him she and the girls would be fine.

 The area where Dennis disappeared is mostly above 11,800 feet elevation. It's between the tiny hamlets of Khopra Danda and Bayali in the center of the Annapurna Circuit, with an achingly beautiful panorama of mountains, rising nearly 26,000 feet above sea level.

 i itoggle caption Courtesy of SAR Dogs Nepal Courtesy of SAR Dogs Nepal

 The region is also one of Nepal's most dangerous for trekkers. The mountains collect moisture from the area, resulting in frequent rain, hail and snow. Once a trekker heads higher into the mountains, like Dennis' group did, wide walking paths and stone steps are replaced by narrow, slippery and unstable paths, often on the edge of vertical precipices.

 Last season, a sign was posted on the track to Bayali warning trekkers not to walk it solo. It's unclear whether the group guide warned Dennis, and no one knows whether he saw the sign.

 "People always underestimate the mountains," says Jit Bahadur Masrangi Magar, director of operations at SAR Dogs Nepal, the group that's spearheading the search for Dennis with four of its dogs. "The mountains are not your friends. So many people believe they can do it alone."

 Eight of the world's 10 highest mountains are in Nepal, and tourism — especially mountain adventure and trekking — is a backbone of the country's economy.

 About 800,000 visitors come each year from all over the world and in increasing numbers from China, Southeast Asia and Israel. The Annapurna Circuit, a favorite trekking destination, was once just traversable on foot. Now it's crisscrossed with rough and, at times, terrifying dirt roads, passable only in four-wheel drive vehicles. Adventurous tourists increasingly aim for areas that are more isolated and more pristine, such as the path to Bayali.

 But when trekkers go missing, the odds of finding them are low. And you don't have to be hiking on Everest to get lost.

 "It is surprisingly easy to disappear in the mountains here, especially if you are trekking alone," says a diplomat in Kathmandu.

 i itoggle caption Courtesy of SAR Dogs Nepal Courtesy of SAR Dogs Nepal

 The U.S. State Department warns visitors not to trek alone and urges everyone to register with the embassy in Kathmandu, where the consular section has pictures of missing American trekkers posted on the walls of its visitor area. Some trekkers' remains are not found for years.

 SAR Dogs Nepal, the country's main dog search and rescue organization, functions entirely on donations. In 2014, the agency rescued five foreigners and about 200 Nepalis.

 And it's not just the rugged terrain and weather that hinder rescue operations. Linguistic and cultural barriers, weak government infrastructure and disorganized communication channels slow down searches.

 Dennis' trekking guide immediately started searching for him when he disappeared. But the company waited 48 hours to alert local authorities, the dog teams and Dennis' family. Dennis managed to place a call that never went through. Rescuers traced the call's location. But they made a mistake, at first, which further delayed the identification of the general area where he disappeared.

 i itoggle caption Courtesy of SARS Dogs Nepal Courtesy of SARS Dogs Nepal

 The head of the SAR Dogs Nepal team searching for Dennis is a 29-year-old fine arts major from the village of Lamjung in the nearby hills. Karna Dura grew up around dogs and the search and rescue world. He knows intimately the odds and complexities of survival.

 In 2013, Dura and SAR Dogs Nepal found the body of a German trekker missing for 22 days after they believe he fell down a gorge as he left the trail to get a better angle to take pictures. He had managed to survive until a few days before SAR Dogs Nepal found him. The trekker had filmed his last few days and a message to his family on his camera.

 In 1991, an Australian man disappeared in northern Nepal, surviving 43 days before being rescued. Unlike Dennis, both these men were trekking solo without a group and not on a set route.

 If a trekker is fully fit and does not have a head injury, trackers with SAR Dogs believe it's possible to survive three to four weeks in the mountains. Dennis, an avid and fit hiker, has a black belt in taekwondo. In his day-pack, he had a warm winter jacket, about 2 pints of water, a knife, a compass and some muesli. Now the weather is Dura's biggest enemy.

 Working with a 10-man team, three air-scenting dogs and one dog that tracks a person, Dura and his team have identified four spots where Dennis was. One spot is a boulder, marking Dennis' last location on the main trail halfway to Bayali. The team is using Dennis' boots, sleeping bag and clothes that the porters were carrying to give the dogs his scent.

 But large boulders below this site, combined with heavy fog and rain, make it impossible for the team to see down the ravine. Though they have been joined by 60 local villagers and six policemen, poor visibility has blocked helicopter assistance. Rappelling is the only way down the gorge, and the army is coming Thursday with professional rappellers.

 Snow and hail for the past few days have kept nighttime temperatures below freezing. The trail is a slippery mud morass.

 "This is very stressful," Dura says in a phone call from Bayali, which at over 13,000 feet elevation is cloaked in snow. "I pray he is all right."

 Dennis' wife, Jennifer, struggles to hold onto hope. But she also feels her world is crumbling. She has made fliers with Dennis' picture, with the offer of a reward, to be distributed to local Nepali villagers. "I am so desperate," she says. "I have written a letter to the prime minister of Malaysia asking him for help."

 Donatella Lorch is a freelance journalist who's based in (and who blogs about) Katmandu, Nepal. |||||Summary:

– Hope is fading by the hour at this point, but rescue teams in Nepal say a hiker who has been missing 12 days could well be alive—assuming he merely got lost and not seriously injured in a fall. Rescuers with four trained dogs are combing the area of the Himalayas where 47-year-old Dennis Lee Thian Poh of Kuala Lumpur was last seen on April 5. The goal is to reunite him with his wife before their second wedding anniversary on Saturday, reports the Malay Mail Online. Family and friends have set up a Find Dennis page on Facebook. In a more in-depth look at the search for Lee, NPR reports that his crucial mistake was walking ahead of his hiking group, alone, on treacherous terrain. He either didn't see or ignored signs warning precisely against it, and it's not clear whether his guide informed him. "People always underestimate the mountains," says an official with the rescue outfit SAR Dogs Nepal, which is leading the search. "The mountains are not your friends. So many people believe they can do it alone." One sliver of hope: Other hikers have survived longer stretches before being found, and Lee, an amateur hiker, at least had a warm jacket, a compass, and some muesli.


Article:
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia's health minister says the death toll in a dramatic museum attack has risen to 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists.

 Tunisians holding candles pray at the entrance gate of the National Bardo Museum where scores of people were killed after gunmen staged an attack, Tunis, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Foreign tourists scrambled... (Associated Press)

 A victim arrives at the Charles Nicoles hospital after gunmen attacked the National Bardo Museum in central Tunis, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Gunmen opened fire Wednesday at a major museum in Tunisia's... (Associated Press)

 Rescue workers evacuate children, left, and adults after gunmen opened fire at the Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital, Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Tunis. Authorities say scores of people are dead after... (Associated Press)

 Said Aidi said Thursday that five Tunisians were killed, including the two gunmen. Authorities are searching for two or three other possible accomplices. He said several victims were brought in without identity documents.

 Moncef Hamdoun, an official with the Charles Nicolle hospital where many victims were taken, said seven of the dead remain unidentified.

 Spain's foreign minister said in Valencia that two Spanish tourists were found safe after hiding out in the Tunis museum all night after Wednesday's attack. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's James Reynolds: "Tunisia has managed to avoid the larger wars which have hit other Arab states, but this attack... reveals its vulnerability"

 A gunman involved in the attack that killed 20 tourists at the Bardo museum in Tunis was known to the authorities, Tunisia's prime minister has said.

 Habib Essid told RTL Radio that security services had flagged up Yassine Laabidi, but were not aware of "anything specific" or of any links to known militant groups.

 A Tunisian police officer also died in Wednesday's attack.

 Both gunmen were killed. A search is on for suspects linked to them.

 Two or three accomplices are still at large, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP news agency. The spokesman said both attackers were "probably" Tunisian. The second gunman has been named as Hatem Khachnaoui.

 The tourists killed in the attack include visitors from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Australia, France, the UK, Poland and Spain, officials said.

 On Thursday, three people - two Spanish tourists and one Tunisian museum worker - were found at the museum after having hidden there overnight, police said.

 Tunisia's Culture Minister, Latifa Lakhdar, told reporters that the museum will re-open to the public early next week.

 Image copyright AFP Image caption The attack targeted one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tunis

 Image copyright AFP Image caption Security services eventually took control of the museum

 Officials say more than 40 people, including tourists and Tunisians, were injured. The gunmen were killed after holding tourists hostage for several hours at the museum.

 Speaking after the attack on national TV, Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi said the country would not be cowed by terror attacks.

 "These monstrous minorities do not frighten us," he said. "We will resist them until the deepest end without mercy."

 At the time of the attack, deputies in the neighbouring parliament building were discussing anti-terrorism legislation.

 Sayida Ounissi, an MP, told BBC Radio Four's Today programme that the security services had said the gunmen had originally planned to attack parliament.

 A statement released by a jihadist media outlet gave a similar account, saying the gunmen began killing tourists after being repelled by police at the parliament. The statement did not say which group carried out the attack.

 Image copyright AP Image caption Protesters lit candles and prayed at the gate of the museum

 Image copyright AP Image caption Security was stepped up across Tunis, including at the museum

 Many Tunisians took to the streets of central Tunis to protest against the attack, waving flags and lighting candles outside the museum.

 World leaders condemned the attack and expressed their support for Tunisia's counter-terrorism efforts.

 The UN Security Council issued a statement saying no terrorist action could reverse Tunisia's path towards democracy. The statement offered condolences to those affected by the attack, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

 Who were the victims?

 According to Tunisian authorities, 23 people were killed - though it is not clear if totals provided by the authorities include the gunmen. Some of the countries involved have given different totals and not all the dead have been identified. The dead include:

 At least three Tunisians, including a police officer involved in the security operation

 Five Japanese were killed, according to Mr Essid - although Japan says it has only confirmed the deaths of three citizens

 Four Italians

 Two Colombians

 Two Spaniards

 One national each from the UK, Australia, France and Poland

 The attack is a huge blow for Tunisia's tourism industry and its government, which only emerged at the end of a long political transition several months ago, the BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.

 Islamist militants have tried to derail the democratic transition, which, although fragile, remains the most positive result of the Arab Spring in the Middle East, our correspondent adds.

 Tourism is a key sector of Tunisia's economy, with large numbers of Europeans visiting the country's resorts.

 In 2002, 19 people, including 11 German tourists, were killed in a bomb blast at a synagogue in the resort of Djerba. Al-Qaeda said it had carried out that attack.

 Concerns about security in Tunisia have increased in recent months as neighbouring Libya has become increasingly unstable.

 A large number of Tunisians have also left to fight in Syria and Iraq, triggering worries that returning militants could carry out attacks at home.

 The Bardo National Museum

 Image copyright AFP Image caption The museum is a major attraction in Tunisia ||||| Tunisia’s presidency says four arrests have been made in connection with the attack as civil society groups call for silent demonstration on Thursday

 More protests against the deadly attack at Tunisia’s Bardo national museum are planned for Thursday, as the prime minister said one of the two gunmen was known to security services.

 The country is in shock after two Tunisian gunmen killed 18 tourists and three Tunisians on Wednesday in the deadliest attack on civilians in the country for 13 years. The gunmen were shot dead by security forces.

 On Thursday afternoon security forces arrested four people in connection with the attack, Reuters reported the president’s office as saying. The army will also be deployed to increase security in Tunisia’s major cities.

 In an interview with France’s RTL radio on Thursday morning, the prime minister, Habib Essid, said Tunisia was working with other countries to learn more about the attackers, identified as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui. He said Laabidi had been flagged to intelligence, although not for “anything special”.

 The night before, the newly elected president Beji Caid Essebsi gave an address to the nation in which he said: “I want the people of Tunisia to understand firstly and lastly that we are in a war with terror, and these savage minority groups will not frighten us.

 “The fight against them will continue until they are exterminated.”

 Authorities have launched a manhunt for two or three suspected accomplices in the attack.

 Hours after the police ended the siege, thousands of Tunisians flocked to the capital’s main thoroughfare, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, waving red Tunisian flags and singing songs from the 2011 Arab spring revolution.

 Mohammed Nasri, a young activist, said: “After the last election we thought we made a big step forward to real democracy, but what happened today was like a KO to our future. An attack so close to our parliament makes us speechless.”

 Tunisia’s main trade union confederation and other civil society groups called for a silent demonstration later on Thursday outside the Bardo museum. The groups called on Tunisians to gather at 3pm GMT “to demonstrate our national unity in the fight against terrorism”.

 Tunisia’s health minister, Said Aidi, said the number of dead had risen on Thursday to 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists, with almost 50 people wounded. Five Tunisians were killed, including two attackers. Aidi said all the injuries came from bullet wounds, and that several victims were brought in without identity documents.

 As well as three Tunisian nationals, the gunmen killed four Italians, three Japanese, two Colombians, two Spaniards, an Australian, a Briton, a Pole and a French national. The nationalities of the other murdered tourists were not confirmed, but reports said an unknown number of South African tourists may have been involved.

 Facebook Twitter Pinterest A woman holds a placard which reads ‘We are all Bardo’. Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/Demotix/Corbis

 Spain’s foreign minister said two Spaniards who survived the attack hid inside the museum building all night. Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Juan Carlos Sanchez and Cristina Rubio, who is four months pregnant, appeared after dawn on Thursday and were well.

 The targeting of tourists by terrorists is a new phenomenon in Tunisia and a big blow to a country whose struggling post-revolution economy depends largely on its beach resorts and foreign visitors. Tunisia, which peacefully elected a new parliament in December, has prided itself as a model of political transition since the overthrow of the brutal authoritarian Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, in contrast to the post-revolutionary difficulties of its troubled neighbours.

 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tunisian soldiers guarding the Bardo museum on Wednesday night. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

 But it has also been struggling to tackle the growing terrorist threat in the region and thousands of Tunisians have left to fight foreign jihad. The attack immediately raised questions about the Islamist terrorist threat to Tunisia amid mounting anxiety that jihadi violence is spilling over the border from neighbouring Libya, as well as Algeria.

 Wednesday night’s protests took place close to the French embassy, which has been ringed by barbed wire and concrete barriers for many months, a sign of the apprehension the city feels about the threat of terrorist attack.

 That threat has become real with the killings at the Bardo museum, in what is the first jihadi strike against civilians in Tunisia since its 2011 revolution; previously militants had restricted attacks to military and government targets.

 “Today’s murderous assault targeted not only tourists and Tunisians but also the tolerant and rights-respecting society that Tunisians have been struggling to build,” said Eric Goldstein of Human Rights Watch.

 The dilemma for many Tunisians now is how the government should respond: many are proud of their break from dictatorship, but worry about how the government can crack down on terrorism while preserving hard-won freedoms.

 Tunisia's clear and present danger Read more

 “Everybody is shocked,” said Houeida Anouar, of Huffington Post Maghreb. “The government now has a huge responsibility. I hated the state when you had no rights. I don’t want Tunisians to go there, it would be a horrible back-pedalling.”

 The attack began just after midday as gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs opened fire in front of the Bardo museum, the country’s largest and an important tourist attraction, which houses one of the world’s biggest collections of Roman mosaics within a 19th-century palace adjacent to parliament. As the gunmen struck, tourists were getting out of coaches to visit the museum on a spring day that had seen scores of visitors, many from cruise ships docked in the port for the day.

 Wafel Bouzi, a guide with a Spanish-speaking group, told journalists that on exiting the museum with his group, he saw in the car park “a young 25-year-old man, dressed normally, without a beard” who was holding a Kalashnikov. “I thought he was playing with it. Then he opened fire.”

 'Our hearts are black': Tunisians in shock after gunmen target tourists in capital Read more

 The gunmen began shooting near the coaches then entered the museum where hundreds of panicked visitors had taken refuge. Josep Lluís Cusidó, mayor of the small Catalan town of Vallmoll, was at the museum as part of a wedding anniversary trip with his wife. “A few men walked in and started shooting. We’re alive thanks to a miracle,” he told the Spanish news agency Efe. “These men suddenly started shooting and people started falling to the ground dead and things started falling from the ceiling … Everything happened so fast.”

 Two Britons were “caught up in” the shootings, the British Foreign Office said, but did not specify whether they were among the dead or injured.

 Wednesday’s attack was the worst since 2002, when an al-Qaida militant killed 21 people, mostly German tourists, after detonating a truck bomb in front of a historic synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba in 2002.

 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Escorted by security forces, rescue workers bring a stretcher to the Bardo museum on Wednesday. Photograph: Salah Ben Mahmoud/AP

 It came days after the death of Ahmed Al-Rouissi, a Tunisian also known as Abu Zakariya Al-Tunisi, who led a contingent of Islamic State fighters in Libya. He was killed in clashes with Libyan troops near the town of Sirte, a stronghold of followers of Muammar Gaddafi, the late Libyan strongman.

 Tunisian commentators speculated there might be a connection between his death and Wednesday’s deadly attack. Pro-Isis Twitter accounts hailed the attack as “ghazwat Tunis” or the “raid of Tunis” (ghazwa is the description given to the early Islamic battles) and have cheered on the attackers. A purported Isis video from last December threatened attacks on Tunisia.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report

  ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Security is being heightened following the attack on the museum in Tunis

 Nine people have been arrested in connection with a gun attack in Tunis that saw 23 people killed on Wednesday, including 20 foreign tourists.

 Tunisia's presidency said four of those arrested were directly linked to the attack and five had "ties to the cell".

 The army will also be deployed to major cities, the presidency added.

 In another development, Islamic State said it was behind the attack on the Bardo museum, using an audio message to praise two "knights of the caliphate".

 The message, posted on Twitter accounts known to be reliable sources of IS propaganda, named the attackers as Abu-Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu-Anas al-Tunisi.

 A statement described the attack as a "blessed invasion of one of the dens of infidels and vice in Muslim Tunisia".

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Fergal Keane: "47 people are still being treated in hospital"

 One of two gunmen involved in the Bardo museum attack, named by Tunisian officials as Yassine Laabidi, was reportedly known to the authorities.

 Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid told RTL Radio that security services had flagged him up but were not aware of "anything specific", or of any links to known militant groups.

 Laabidi and his accomplice, named as Hatem Khachnaoui, were killed as security forces stormed the museum.

 It was not immediately clear how the identities of the gunmen corresponded to the names given by IS. Jihadist groups, including IS, often give their fighters noms de guerre.

 Tourists from Japan, Colombia, Australia, the UK, and several other European countries were killed in the attack and more than 40 people were injured.

 Analysis by Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent

 The claim by so-called Islamic State, if authentic, that it carried out Wednesday's attack in Tunis, needs to be seen in context. IS does not control any territory in Tunisia, there is no IS "province" as exists in Syria and Iraq.

 Tunisia, unlike its unfortunate neighbour Libya, is a modern, functioning state with an elected government and trained police and security forces. That said, Tunisia suffers from a number of factors that make it ripe for exploitation by IS, which would surely like to include it in an eventual string of North African provinces stretching all the way from Egypt to Nigeria.

 Between 3,000 and 5,000 Tunisians have gone to join IS, with an estimated 500 having returned. There is chaos to the east in Libya and jihadists hiding on the border with Algeria. There are also many young, dissatisfied Tunisians who feel economically and politically frustrated, the very reason why Tunisia became the birthplace of the Arab Spring in 2011.

 Islamic State builds on al-Qaeda lands

 The suspects arrested on Thursday were not identified and no further details were given of their alleged involvement.

 However, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says an al-Qaeda operative has claimed that the two gunmen had spent two months training with militants in Derna, eastern Libya, before slipping back into Tunisia.

 In a statement, Tunisia's presidency said the country was facing "exceptional circumstances".

 "After a meeting with the armed forces, the president has decided large cities will be secured by the army," the statement added.

 Later on Thursday, US President Barack Obama called his Tunisian counterpart to Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi to offer "sympathy, on behalf of all Americans, to the victims' families and loved ones", the White House said.

 It added: "The president affirmed our continued robust co-operation on counterterrorism and broader security issues with the Tunisian government and offered continued US assistance and support in the ongoing investigation."

 Tourism hit

 As Tunisia attempted to come to terms with the attack, a large anti-terrorism protest took place at the site of the attack.

 People carried banners calling for peace and lit candles in memory of the dead.

 The BBC's Aidan Lewis, in Tunis, says many of the demonstrators were from the country's coastal elite - who often hold different views from those living in the interior.

 Image copyright Twitter

 Witnesses to the attack said the gunmen, carrying assault rifles, opened fire on tourists outside the museum in front of a row of buses before charging inside and taking hostages.

 On Thursday, two Spanish tourists and a Tunisian museum worker were found at the museum after having hidden there overnight believing the attack might not have been over, police said.

 Image copyright BBC/AFP

 The attack is a huge blow for Tunisia's tourism industry and its government, which only emerged at the end of a long political transition several months ago, the BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.

 Two cruise companies - MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises - said they were suspending stopovers in Tunis.

 MSC said in a statement that at least nine of those killed had been passengers on its MSC Splendida cruise ship which was docked in Tunis. It said another 12 of its passengers were injured and six were still unaccounted for.

 Costa said that three passengers from the Costa Fascinosa had died. Eight others were injured and two were unaccounted for, company CEO Michael Thamm said.

 Who were the victims?

 According to Tunisian authorities, 23 people were killed - though it is not clear if totals provided by the authorities include the gunmen. Some of the countries involved have given different totals and not all the dead have been identified. The dead include:

 At least three Tunisians, including a police officer involved in the security operation

 Five Japanese were killed, according to Mr Essid - although Japan says it has only confirmed the deaths of three citizens

 Four Italians

 Two Colombians

 Two Spaniards

 One national each from the UK, Australia, France and Poland

 Survivors' stories

 Image copyright AFP Image caption The area outside the museum is still covered in blood stains from the attack

 At the time of the attack, deputies in the neighbouring parliament building were discussing anti-terrorism legislation.

 Sayida Ounissi, an MP, told BBC Radio Four's Today programme that according to the security services the gunmen had originally planned to attack parliament.

 A statement released by a jihadist media outlet gave a similar account, saying the gunmen began killing tourists after being repelled by police at the parliament. The statement did not say which group carried out the attack.

 Tunisia began a transition to democracy in 2011 with the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

 Hardline Islamists have tried hard to derail the process and security concerns have increased as neighbouring Libya has become increasingly unstable.

 A large number of Tunisians have also left to fight in Syria and Iraq, triggering worries that returning militants could carry out attacks at home.

 Tunisia's Culture Minister, Latifa Lakhdar, told reporters that the museum would re-open to the public early next week. ||||| Tunisians took to the streets of their capital last night to denounce the terrorist attacks on a museum which left 19 innocent people dead and around 40 wounded .

 Large crowds gathered in the centre of Tunis, waving flags, singing the national anthem and shouting slogans against the gunmen who launched the daylight attack on the Bardo Museum, famous for its collections of ancient Roman mosaics and other antiquities.

 Tunisians light candles at the entrance gate of the National Bardo Museum (AP)

 People also lit candles outside the museum in memory of the 17 tourists and two Tunisians who were shot dead by at least two gunmen.

 One of the Tunisians was a policeman. According to the latest information, the dead tourists included three Japanese, three Italians, two Colombians, two Spaniards, an Australian, a Pole and a person from France.

 The Colombians were a mother and child visiting Tunisia on a family holiday, their government said. The father survived the attack.

 People escape from the Bardo Museum during the assault (AFP/Getty)

 The hashtags #JeSuisBardo and #JeSuisTunisien were trending on Twitter, as people around the world expressed their solidarity with the latest country to suffer a murderous attack by Islamist extremists.

 They were an echo of the #JeSuisCharlie phenomenon that arose after the terrorist attacks on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January.

 Some Twitter uses posted photos of themselves holding up signs saying “I will come to Tunisia this summer”, amid fears that the terrorist attack could cripple the country’s tourism industry.

 More accounts of the terrifying attack emerged on Thursday, with tourists describing how they desperately tried to seek some sort of cover as the gunmen opened fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

 People being held hostage by gunmen in the Bardo museum

 Among the wounded Japanese tourists was Noriko Yuki, 35, who was visiting the museum with her mother.

 "I was crouching down with my arms over my head, but I was shot in the ear, hand and neck," she said from her hospital bed, in footage broadcast by a Japanese television channel.

 "My mother beside me was shot in the neck. Mother couldn't move by herself when the police came over.”

 Yuki did not say exactly what had happened to her 68-year-old mother, only that she was rushed to a separate hospital for surgery.

 Fabienne, a French tourist, recounted how she and others hid in one of the museum's galleries along with their guide.

 "We couldn't see anything, but there must have been a lot of them. We were afraid that, at any moment, they would come and kill us," she told France's BFM television.

 Dhouha Belhaj Alaya, a museum employee, said she heard "intense gunfire".

 "My co-workers were screaming 'Run! Run! Shots are being fired!'" she told AFP. "We escaped out the back door with co-workers and some tourists."

 The attack was the worst on foreigners in Tunisia since an Al-Qaeda suicide bombing of a synagogue killed 14 Germans, two French and five Tunisians on the island of Djerba in 2002.

 There has been increasing concern about the potential destabilisation of Tunisia as neighbouring Libya descends further into conflict between rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk as well as fighting between militias.

 An estimated 3,000 Tunisians have flocked to the black flag of Isil in Syria and Iraq – the largest number of fighters from a single country. ||||| TUNIS Gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed Tunisia's national museum on Wednesday, killing 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians in one of the worst militant attacks in a country that had largely escaped the region's "Arab Spring" turmoil.

 Five Japanese as well as visitors from Italy, Poland and Spain were among the dead in the noon assault on Bardo museum inside the heavily guarded parliament compound in central Tunis, Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

 "They just started opening fire on the tourists as they were getting out of the buses ... I couldn't see anything except blood and the dead," the driver of a tourist coach told journalists at the scene.

 Scores of visitors fled into the museum and the militants - who authorities did not immediately link to any extremist group - took hostages inside, officials said. Security forces entered around two hours later, killed two militants and freed the captives, a government spokesman said. A police officer died in the operation.

 The attack on such a high-profile target is a blow for the small North African country that relies heavily on European tourism and has mostly avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

 Several Islamist militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising, and authorities estimate about 3,000 Tunisians have also joined fighters in Iraq and Syria -- igniting fears they could return and mount attacks at home.

 "All Tunisians should be united after this attack which was aimed at destroying the Tunisian economy," Prime Minister Essid declared in a national address.

 The local stock exchange dropped nearly 2.5 percent and two German tour operators said they were cancelling trips from Tunisia's beach resorts to Tunis for a few days.

 Accor, Europe’s largest hotel group, said it had tightened security at its two hotels in Tunisia.

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined leaders from Europe condemning the attack and said Washington continued "to support the Tunisian government's efforts to advance a secure, prosperous, and democratic Tunisia."

 Television footage showed dozens of people, including elderly foreigners and one man carrying a child, running for shelter in the museum compound, covered by security forces aiming rifles into the air.

 The Tunisian premier said 17 tourists were killed, including four Italians, a French citizen, a Pole, two Colombians, five Japanese, an Australian and two Spaniards. He had previous mentioned a German fatality, but did not mention that in later statements. Two Tunisians were killed.

 The museum is known for its collection of ancient Tunisian artifacts and mosaics and other treasures from classical Rome and Greece. There were no immediate reports that the attackers had copied Islamic State militants in Iraq by targeting exhibits seen by hardliners as idolatrous.

 Bardo's white-walled halls set in the parliament compound are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Tunisian capital. Many tourists come for day trips to Tunis from nearby Mediterranean beach resorts.

 Shocked but defiant, hundreds of Tunisians later gathered in the streets of downtown Tunis waving the country's red and white crescent flag, and chanting against terrorism.

 "I pass this message to Tunisians, that democracy will win and it will survive," President Beji Caid Essebsi said in a television statement. "We will find more ways and equipment for the army to wipe out these barbarous groups for good."

 A MODEL OF COMPROMISE

 Tunisia's uprising inspired "Arab Spring" revolts in neighboring Libya and in Egypt, Syria and Yemen. But its adoption of a new constitution and staging of largely peaceful elections had won widespread praise and stood in stark contrast to the chaos that has plagued those countries.

 After a crisis between secular leaders and the Islamist party which won the country's first post-revolt election, Tunisia has emerged as a model of compromise politics and transition to democracy for the region.

 But the attack comes at a challenging time with Tunisia planning to reform its economy and cutback on public spending. Tourism represents around 7 percent of the gross domestic product.

 Security forces have already clashed with some Islamist militants, including Ansar al-Sharia which is listed as a terrorist group by Washington. But until Wednesday most attacks were in remote areas, often near the border with Algeria.

 Another group is holed up in the mountains along the Algerian border where the army has spent months trying to destroy their camps.

 Affiliates of Islamic State militants fighting in Iraq and Syria have also been gaining ground in North Africa, especially in the chaotic environment of Tunisia's neighbor Libya, where two rival governments are battling for control.

 A senior Tunisian militant was killed while fighting for Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte over the past week. Security sources said he had been operating training camps and logistics.

 "An attack like this could strike the fragile transition in Tunisia, especially the tourism industry," said local political analyst Nourredine Mbarki. "The problem is now these groups have gone from being in mountains and borders to hit the capital and targets with high security."

 Wednesday's assault was the worst attack involving foreigners in Tunisia since an al Qaeda suicide bombing on a synagogue killed 21 people on the tourist island of Djerba in 2002.

 The most recent attack on the tourism industry in 2013 when a militant blew himself up at the Tunisian beach resort of Sousse, but no one else was killed or wounded. Another bomber was caught at a presidential monument before he blew himself up.

 (Additional reporting by Valentina Consiglio in Italy; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Diane Craft) ||||| WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has sent a plane with doctors and diplomats to Tunisia to help and bring back Poles injured in a gun attack in a museum in Tunis.

 Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said Thursday morning that according to information he has at the moment, two Poles were killed in the attack, two are missing and nine were hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening.

 President Bronislaw Komorowski stressed that Tunisian authorities are still identifying the victims and the numbers could change.

 National flags on government buildings were flown half-staff in a sign of mourning.

 Doctors, psychologists and consular officials have flown to Tunis. Some 300 Polish tourists are in Tunisia, according to tourist offices. ||||| TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Spanish tourist Juan Carlos Sanchez was waiting in Tunisia's leading museum to go have lunch with his tour guide when a man came streaking past, fleeing gunshots.

 Policemen guard the entrance of the Bardo museum in Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday, March 19, 2015, a day after gunmen opened fire killing over 20 people, mainly tourists. One of the two gunmen who killed... (Associated Press)

 As gunmen fired on tourists, Sanchez and Cristina Rubio, who is four months pregnant, hid in fear — and stayed in hiding all night, hours after police killed the two gunmen and the museum's other visitors were escorted to safety.

 "We saw a man come running in chased by the shots of a terrorist. We just saw the man who hit the floor and realized that someone was shooting and went to hide," Sanchez told The Associated Press in the maternity ward of a Tunis hospital Thursday.

 "We hid in a small room and that's where we stayed until the police saw us today and then we left."

 Sanchez's voice was steady but his eyes were still wide as he recounted the attack and ensuing all-night vigil at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis.

 "We spent all night there and we thought the terrorists were still outside," he said. "But it was simply the police who were searching for people. We thought they were terrorists out there and that's why we didn't venture out."

 After they emerged safely Thursday after dawn, Rubio sat in the maternity ward, in a bed with a tray of uneaten couscous and other hospital food, smiling as they received a visit from Health Minister Said Aidi.

 Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told reporters in Valencia that Spanish consular officials and police had searched all night for the couple, who were neither listed among the 23 dead nor among those found safe after Wednesday's attack on the National Bardo Museum in Tunis.

 ___

 Harold Heckle in Madrid contributed to this report. |||||Summary:

– "We are in a war with terror, and these savage minority groups will not frighten us," Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi vowed in the wake of a terrorist attack that has now killed 18 foreign tourists and three Tunisians, plus the two gunmen. "The fight against them will continue until they are exterminated," he said in a speech last night, per the Guardian. He promised that "democracy will win and it will survive" as large numbers of demonstrators gathered in Tunis to protest the attack, reports Reuters. Meanwhile, ISIS militants today claimed responsibility for the attack, reports the BBC. But in a bright spot, two Spanish tourists who hid in the museum all night have now been found safe; Juan Carlos Sanchez tells the AP that "we thought the terrorists were still outside. But it was simply the police who were searching for people." Cristina Rubio is four months pregnant; both are fine. In other developments: Prime Minister Habib Essi says one of the two gunmen, Yassine Laabidi, was known to authorities, but security services were unaware of links to militant groups, the BBC reports. Both gunmen were killed by security forces, and authorities say they're still hunting several accomplices. Tunisia has now detained a total of nine people. Officials say tourists from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Australia, France, Poland, and Spain were killed in the attack, according to the BBC. Poland, which has sent a plane with doctors to help treat the injured, says two of its citizens were killed, two are missing, and nine are among the 40 or so wounded, the AP reports. Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring, is the "Arab world's most successful democracy," which may have made it more of a target, but there are fears the attack could lead to greater authoritarianism, reports the New York Times. ISIS supporters are praising the attack online, as per the Times. The Telegraph reports that Tunisian media are speculating that Ahmed al-Rouissi, the country's most-wanted terrorist, may be involved. The Tunisian government says he became a senior ISIS leader in Libya and was killed in fighting last weekend. Tunisian officials have speculated that the adjacent Parliament building may have been the attackers' initial target, and that they may have switched to the museum because it had less security, the New York Times reports.