(VOVworld) - Tunisia has decided to close 80 mosques that are operating outside the government’s control, a day after a terrorist attack killed dozens in the African country.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid speaks at a press conference in Tunis on June 26, 2015 after the mass shooting in the resort town of Sousse. (Photo: AFP)

On Saturday, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib al-Essid called on Tunisians to coordinate and help the government confront terrorism, considering it a national duty. The move comes after a gunman opened fire and killed 38 people, mostly foreign tourists on vacation in the resort city of Sousse situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the country’s north. Security forces reportedly shot one of the two attackers dead, while the other managed to flee. Friday’s attack was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group, which is also wreaking havoc in other parts of the world, mainly in Iraq and Syria.