An attack near a synagogue in Tunisia killed two security officers and two visitors on Tuesday the government said amid an annual pilgrimage to the island of Djerba that draws hundreds of Jews from Europe and Israel, Reuters reports.
The attack was staged by a guard at a naval installation on Djerba who used his weapon to shoot a colleague and seize his ammunition before heading towards the synagogue, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The attacker fired indiscriminately at security units located near the synagogue, killing the two visitors and another security officer, as well as injuring five security officers and four visitors. Security forces then shot him dead, the Interior Ministry said.
The Tunisian foreign ministry said one of the visitors killed was French and one was Tunisian.
Video posted on social media that Reuters was not immediately able to verify showed frightened looking people standing in a courtyard as a gunshot rang out. Residents of the island said they had heard an exchange of fire.
Authorities did not identify a motive for the attack but Islamist militants have previously targeted the pilgrimage in Djerba and have staged other attacks in the country.
