A Tunisian naval guard shot and killed a colleague and two civilians Tuesday as he tried to succeed in a synagogue on the Mediterranean island of Djerba throughout an annual Jewish pilgrimage, the Tunisian Inside Ministry stated. The attacker was slain by safety guards, and 10 folks have been injured.
The motive for the assault was beneath investigation. It got here as Tunisia, as soon as a prized vacationer vacation spot and birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, has fallen into political and financial disaster.
Djerba, a picturesque island off the southern coast of Tunisia, is house to the North African nation’s fundamental Jewish neighborhood.
The civilians killed have been French and Tunisian, the Tunisian Overseas Ministry stated. It was not instantly clear in the event that they have been pilgrims attending ceremonies on the 2,500-year-old Ghriba temple, certainly one of Africa’s oldest synagogues.
These injured embrace six safety brokers and 4 civilians, the Inside Ministry stated. It didn’t specify how they have been injured or whether or not they have been all shot by the attacker, who was not publicly recognized.
The assailant, a guard affiliated with the Nationwide Guard naval heart within the port city of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague along with his service weapon after which seized ammunition and headed towards the Ghriba synagogue, the ministry stated.
When he reached the positioning, he opened hearth on safety models stationed on the temple, who fired again, killing him earlier than he reached the doorway, the ministry stated. The synagogue was locked down and people inside and outdoors have been stored safe whereas authorities examine the motives for the assault, the ministry stated.
Ghayda Thabet, a member of the Tunisian Affiliation for the Assist of Minorities, was on the Ghriba synagogue and appealed for assistance on Fb. “They’re taking pictures with dwell ammunition. Assist us,” she pleaded in a publish.
Movies circulating on-line confirmed panic-stricken guests operating whereas gunshots rang out.
It occurred throughout an annual pilgrimage that draws 1000’s of holiday makers from world wide to Djerba.
In 2002, a truck bombing killed some 20 folks on the entrance to the identical temple through the annual Jewish pilgrimage. Al-Qaida claimed accountability for that assault, whose victims included German and French vacationers in addition to Tunisians.
In 2015, an assault in Tunisia on the Mediterranean resort of Sousse killed 38, largely British vacationers. The Islamic State group claimed that assault, together with assaults that 12 months on the famed Bardo Museum within the capital Tunis and on a bus carrying presidential guards.