Tunisia terror attack: Probe identifies 'man behind beach massacre'
The alleged 'mastermind' behind the Tunisia terror attack in which three members of a Black Country family were killed has been identified by a BBC investigation, Panorama said.
Chamseddine al-Sandi was named as the ringleader in confessions by suspects arrested in connection with the atrocity in June 2015, the programme reported.
He is also accused of being responsible for the terrorist cell that targeted the Bardo National Museum in Tunis three months earlier.
It comes ahead of the inquests into the deaths of the 30 British holidaymakers in Sousse, which begin in London next week.
Joel Richards, his uncle Adrian Evans and his grandfather Patrick all died in the attack at Sousse.
A fourth member of the Wednesbury family, Joel's brother Owen, survived.
In total 38 were massacred after Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire on the beach and at the Imperial Hotel.
Al-Sandi, identified for the first time, was said to have recruited and directed the gunman.
Panorama said al-Sandi is believed to be on the run in Libya and that Tunisian authorities have issued warrants for his arrest over the Sousse attack and the Bardo National Museum attack.
Documents obtained by the BBC also reportedly show how closely Rezgui worked with the Bardo gang - describing how he met with them in cafes and mosques in Tunis and how he trained alongside one of the Bardo gunmen in an IS camp in Libya.
Both attacks were claimed by the so-called Islamic State.
A lawyer representing most of the victim's families told Panorama that he was unaware of al-Sandi's involvement and had not seen his picture before.
Demetrius Danas, a lawyer for Irwin Mitchell, said: "I have not seen that. If you are right, and the families see that, they will be shocked to see the face of the man who caused them so much sadness."
The Panorama investigation also revealed what it called a "catalogue of errors" by Tunisian police on the day of the attack.
Having seen statements from officers, it reported that the chief of tourist police in Sousse was just five minutes away when he was told of the attack, but went via a police station seeking weapons and then went to the wrong hotel.
It added of two officers who arrived at the beach by boat, one fainted "out of fear" and the other took his police shirt off "so not to be shot."
Panorama reporter Jane Corbin also spoke to Zahra Driss who owns the Imperial Hotel.
She said she was planning to reopen the hotel in the near future and urged the UK Government to change its travel advice for holidaymakers.
Ms Driss, added: "We are extremely vigilant now in Tunisia, on the beaches, in the airports, on the roads, everywhere.
"So please remove this travel ban because it is useless. To me it is just punishing Tunisia."
