( CNN ) Two extremists who attacked a landmark museum in Tunisia , killing 23 people , got weapons training at camps in Libya , an official said Friday . The suspects were activated from sleeper cells in Tunisia , Security Minister Rafik Chelly said . He did not say which group activated them , or with whom they trained . `` They left the country illegally last December for Libya , and they were able to train with weapons there , '' he told private broadcaster AlHiwar Ettounsi TV . Like Tunisia , Libya saw its longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi ousted during the regional wave of revolutions known as the Arab Spring . But unlike its neighbor to the west , Libya has been fraught with more instability and violence -- much of it perpetrated by Islamist militants , like those behind the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed U.S . Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans . Such violence has been rare in Tunisia , at least on the scale of what happened Wednesday at the Bardo Museum in Tunis . Still , it is not a total shock , given that up to 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight as jihadists in Iraq and Syria , according to the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization in London , not to mention others who have joined radical groups closer to home . Already , authorities have arrested nine people in connection with the attack , including four directly linked to it , according to a statement from Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi . And in an audio message posted online Thursday , ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack , which it said targeted `` crusaders and apostates '' with `` automatic weapons and hand grenades . '' CNN can not independently verify the legitimacy of the audio statement . That bloodshed is `` just the start , '' the ISIS message warned -- a threat that may or may not be hollow , but nonetheless adds extra urgency for Tunisian investigators . The nation 's security forces are working to break up other cells like those behind the recent Bardo Museum attack . But that 's not necessarily going to be fast or easy . `` We know they can launch operations , but we must piece together clues in order to conduct an arrest , '' Chelly said . As investigators continued their work , Tunisians turned out Friday to mark the North African nation 's independence from France . Those commemorations were more somber this year , but they were also in many ways more significant . `` I 'm here to celebrate 59 years of our independence , '' said Adib Adela , 38 , a school inspector in Tunis . `` The most important thing now is to properly investigate and to find those responsible . '' Tunisia has been shaken by the terrorist attack , though it was foreigners -- 19 of them tourists who 'd been on two cruise ships that docked in Tunis -- who made up the vast majority of victims . Fifteen victims ' bodies are at a morgue in the capital , a forensic official said . Some of them have n't been identified two days after the attack , according to the official , and all are foreigners . The fear is that many other tourists wo n't come back . Already , the parent companies of the two ships that had most of the victims , Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises , have announced the cancellation of all scheduled stops in Tunis for 2015 and substituted them with other ports . That means some foreigners wo n't be coming to Tunisia as once expected . But it does n't mean all tourists will stay away -- as illustrated by a movement online of people vowing , `` I will come to Tunisia . '' Beyond tourism , Tunisians also hope to get support from other countries as they fight terrorism . `` I hope other countries will support Tunisia , like they supported France after Charlie Hebdo , '' said Amir Foudieli , 33 , who works for an export company , referring to the January massacre at the satirical magazine 's offices in Paris . `` We are Tunisian , this is our country . Not theirs , they ( the terrorists ) are bastards of children . We have centuries of history . '' CNN 's Hamdi Alkhshali , Victor Blackwell and journalist Yasmine Ryan contributed to this report .
Two cruise ship companies cancel 2015 stops in Tunisia after the Bardo Museum attack . The museum attack suspects were activated from sleeper cells in Tunisia , security minister says . Islamist gather to celebrate independence day .