Tunisian security officials fired after museum attack

Five top security officials have been fired by Tunisia's prime minister after gunmen attacked a museum and killed at least 21 people, most of them tourists, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Government spokesman Mufdi Mseddi told the AP those fired include the director of Tunisia's tourist police and the police chief for the neighborhood around the National Bardo Museum, where the attack happened Wednesday.

He said the decision came after Prime Minister Habib Essid visited the area and spotted security problems.

Gunmen stormed the museum, a popular tourist attraction in the capital of Tunis, taking hostages and gunning down civilians before two attackers were killed by police.

President Beji Caid Essebsi told Paris Match magazine that security failures meant police and intelligence authorities were not "thorough enough in protecting the museum."

On Sunday, Essebsi said the attack involved "three aggressors" and the third man escaped, the Associated Press reported. Surveillance video of two gunmen walking through the museum was released by the Tunisian Interior Ministry on Saturday. Some media, including the BBC and Paris Match, reported the death toll has risen to 25.

On Saturday, authorities said more than 20 suspected militants had been arrested, including 10 believed to have been directly involved in the attack.

The slain gunmen were identified as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui, both Tunisians. The prime minister said Laabidi had been flagged by intelligence authorities, although not for "anything special."

The Islamic State released an online recording claiming responsibility for the shooting rampage. However social media accounts linked to a group in Tunisia affiliated with al-Qaeda also published purported details of the operation, Reuters reported.

The museum is scheduled to reopen to the public Tuesday in a special ceremony that will include appearance from guest artists. Museum officials said no major archaeological treasures were damaged in the attack, and that only minor repairs were required.

Contributing: The Associated Press