Seven arrests made in Tunisia hotel killings

TUNIS, Tunisia, June 29 (UPI) -- Tunisia announced the first arrests in the hotel attack Friday which killed 38 people, the Tunisian foreign minister said Monday.

"We have started by arresting a first group, a significant number of people, from the network that was behind this terrorist criminal," said Foreign Minister Mohamed Gharsalli, a reference to gunman Seifeddine Rezgui, who carried out the attack. Authorities said Rezgui, a student and Tunisian national, was the only person firing a weapon during the siege at the Sousse, Tunisia, resort, but he had a significant number of accomplices and providers of weapons.

Although Gharselli did not specify the number of arrests, an unidentified source said seven people were arrested in various locations over the weekend.

It is believed 30 of those who died were tourists from Britain. Rezgui approached the beach from the water, either by speedboat or jet ski, and shot at beachgoers and swimming pool patrons before entering a hotel and randomly firing. Police shot him to death as he ran from the hotel. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Gharsalli added 1,000 troops would be deployed to protect Tunisia's beaches, a major element in the country's tourism industry, which serves six million Europeans annually.

The arrests come after Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Esid ordered the closure of 80 mosques under suspicion of inciting violence.