Tunisia Massacre: Suspected associates of the gunman have been arrested

Suspected associates of the Tunisian beach gunman have been arrested, as it was announced that Britain will observe a minute’s silence for the victims of the massacre.

Mohamed Gharsalli, the Tunisian interior minister, said a “significant number” of individuals linked to Seifeddine Rezgui have been detained.

It came as David Cameron, the British prime minister, announced there would be a nationwide minute’s silence at midday on Friday.

A total of 38 people, including up to 30 Britons, died after 23-year-old student Rezgui opened fire in the resort of Sousse on Friday.

The number of British victims confirmed dead reached 18 yesterday but is expected to rise to around 30 in the coming days.

Announcing the minute’s silence, Mr Cameron told MPs: “I know the whole country will want to share in a moment of remembrance.”

The prime minister, who earlier described the “existential threat” posed by Islamic State (IS) as “the struggle of our generation”, told parliament: “We will not give up our way of life or cower in the face of terrorism.”

He said: “This is not the war between Islam and the West which [IS] want people to believe — it is a generational struggle between a minority of extremists who want hatred to flourish and the rest of us who want freedom to prosper. Together we will prevail.”

He said Britons were not being advised to stay away from Tunisia’s coastal resorts despite the bloody events at Sousse, while he also disclosed that a major exercise will take place in London this week to ensure the UK is prepared to deal with terrorism.

Downing St said all British nationals injured would be returned within the next 24 hours.

Mr Cameron’s spokeswoman said delays in identifying the dead were due in part to the fact that the holidaymakers may not have been carrying identification at the time of the attack.

In two cases where authorities “feared the worst”, individuals thought to have possibly been victims of the gunman were tracked down alive and well in the UK yesterday, she said.

The spokeswoman said UK authorities were “working closely” with relatives of those killed to offer help with the repatriation of the bodies of their loved ones, and that some were expected to be brought home this week.

Former navy chief Lord West said Britain must step up the “propaganda war” against IS who he said were “running rings around us in terms of the social media they are putting out”.

He also suggested the UK should consider joining the US in air strikes on IS targets in Syria and the West should consider working with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.