Islamic State group claims Tunisia attack that killed 23

TUNIS, Tunisia -- The radical Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for the attack on a famed Tunis museum that killed 23 people, wounded scores of tourists and upended the country's struggling tourism industry.

Defying the extremists, hundreds of Tunisians rallied Thursday at the National Bardo Museum, the site of the attack, stepping around trails of blood and broken glass to proclaim their solidarity with the victims and with Tunisia's fledgling democracy.

One person carried a sign saying, "Tunisia is bloodied but still standing."

Tunisian security forces arrested nine people -- five with alleged direct connections to Wednesday's attack by two gunmen who were later slain by police -- the president's office said.

The other four suspects arrested in the central part of the country were part of a cell supporting those involved in the attack, the statement said.

Prime Minister Habib Essid told France's RTL radio Tunisia was working with other countries to learn more about the slain attackers, identified as Yassine Laabidi and Hatem Khachnaoui. He said Laabidi had been flagged to the intelligence agency, although not for "anything special."

The attack was the worst at a tourist site in Tunisia in more than a decade and prompted a leading Italian cruise ship line to announce it was canceling all stops in the North African nation indefinitely.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in an audio and written statement on jihadi forums.