Tunis blast 'a terror attack'

The aftermath: 16 people, including 11 German tourists, were killed

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Germany and Tunisia say they are "100 percent sure" that an explosion that killed 11 German tourists near a synagogue in a Tunisian resort was a terrorist attack.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily and Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali held talks on Monday at which they said both countries believed the explosion on the island of Djerba was a deliberate attack.

Schily said he was "100 percent sure that it was a terrorist crime," but cast doubts on speculation in Germany that the blast was linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

"For the time being, we can't say it was al Qaeda," he said.

Schily, who visited the site of the blast Sunday, added: "Information and details point to a crime. The amount and nature of the material used in the tanker confirm that it was an (terrorist) attack."

Tunisian authorities had initially said the blast was an accident.

A truck exploded near the entrance of the Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba, killing 16 people, including 11 German tourists, on April 11.

Schily said Tunisian authorities had pledged to increase security measures.

In an interview on Monday, a German survivor said the blast hurled him through the air and burned clothing off people near him.

Michael Esper, 35, told the Bild newspaper: "The force of the blast was so massive that I couldn't hold on to my son's hand and I was hurled through the synagogue onto the floor.

"A huge flame flashed through the door. It flared around my son's face, burned his arms and back.

"People were lying on their backs, their arms and legs bent at odd angles, a badly burned man had nothing left on his body but a leather belt. A woman whose clothes were burned off down to her underwear was looking for her purse. She then died."