Tunisia terror attack: 19 dead after gunmen storm museum

Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui has told reporters that the assault was by “two or more terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs”, AFP reports

He said there were about about 100 tourists inside the museum at the time of the attack but the majority were evacuated.

Aroui would not confirm reports of a hostage taking inside the museum, but added “there is information according to which there are still tourists” in the building.

President Beji Caid Essebsi is to make a public statement to the nation, spokesman Moez Sinaoui told AFP, while Prime Minister Habib Essid is meeting with the interior and defence ministers.

The UK foreign office has issued a brief statement. It says:

We are urgently looking into the serious situation in Tunisia.

Over 400,000 Britons visit Tunisia each year.

An official at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome said two Italians had been wounded in the attack, Reuters is reporting.

About another 100 Italians were in the area and had been taken to safety by Tunisian police, authorities added.

AP’s latest report says that six people have been wounded in addition to the eight dead, according to the Tunisian authorities.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry has said that three Poles are among the wounded. It is still unclear whether hostages were taken, according to AP.

The attack comes the day after Tunisian security officials confirmed the death in neighbouring Libya of a leading suspect in Tunisian terror attacks and the killings of two opposition figures in Tunisia.

Ahmed Rouissi gained the nickname of the “black box of terrorism.” The information on his death was made public by security officials giving testimony in parliament and cited by the official TAP news agency.

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Guardian Middle East reporter Kareem Shaheen reports:

Pro-Isis twitter accounts are hailing the attack as “ghazwat Tunis” or the “raid of Tunis” (ghazwa is the description given to the early Islamic battles) and are cheering on the attackers.

This is an apparent Isis video from last December threatening Tunisia:

It starts with:

My message to the tyrants of Tunisia and its soldiers, the weapons are between us. We have faced you in Tunisia, and know your cowardice.

It claims political assassinations in Tunisia, and calls on the state to avoid taking part in democratic elections.

Abu Mohammed al Tunisi, one of the fighters in the video, says:

I swear we will come to you with explosives, with weapons, with the Kalashnikov, with IEDs. We will destroy your thrones, by God, we will not be silent while our hearts have faith, we will raise the flag of tawhid (monotheism) above your thrones.

We are still in the dark about the identitity of the gunmen but according to some estimates there are more Tunisians fighting for Islamic State (Isis) than combatants from any other single country, prompting fears about what they might do on their return.

Last month, Tunisia arrested 32 would-be attackers, some of whom were returning from fighting in Syria, who planned “spectacular” attacks, officials said.

This picture purports to show people inside the museum. They are not hostages.

The Tunisian interior ministry says seven foreigners and one Tunisian have been shot dead in an attack at the Bardo museum in Tunis.

A spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui, told Shems FM radio station that two “terrorists” were surrounded at the museum, famous for its collection of of Roman mosaics.

He was unable to confirm reports that tourists visiting the museum had been taken hostage or that the gunmen were dressed in military uniforms.

The museum is adjacent to the national parliament building which was evacuated after the shooting.

Tunisia has struggled with violence by Islamic extremists in recent years, including some linked to the Islamic State group.