According to the NY Times, Tunisian President Béji Caïd Essebsi said that the explosion was a “cowardly terrorist attack”.
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His office also said that Essebsi had cancelled a trip to Switzerland, which had been scheduled for Wednesday.
Most of the 12 killed in the attack are the presidential guards, according to the EFE news agency.
Two attacks earlier this year claimed by the so-called Islamic State militant group targeted foreigners.
The explosion, during rush hour in the city’s main avenue, was an attack, a presidential source said.
Tunisia’s Interior Ministry called the explosion a “terrorist act”, but authorities did not say whether a bomb was planted on the bus or an explosive was sacked at the vehicle.
Prime Minister Habib Essid and Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli visited the scene of the blast.
While Tunisia has suffered recent attacks on security forces and police around the country, the explosion Tuesday was the first serious attack on security forces in the capital since jihadis began a campaign of violence in 2011.
A security source at the site meanwhile told the AFP that “most of the agents who were on the bus are dead”. “This was not an ordinary explosion”.
The country has been credited as the only Arab nation to emerge from that period with a largely democratic government.
Police surrounded the area and erected security cordons, while ambulances evacuated the dead and wounded.
Kerry said the USA and Tunisia would soon begin negotiations on a major loan guarantee and were discussing expanded military cooperation, including intelligence sharing and the possible use of drones to collect information about potential threats.
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That attack came just three months after an attack on the Bardo National Museum in March, which left 22 people – among them tourists – killed.
