At least 4 individuals had been killed Tuesday when a police officer opened fireplace on an annual pilgrimage to a famend Tunisian synagogue.
The suspect killed pilgrims in addition to two members of the safety companies earlier than he was gunned down, the nation’s Interior Ministry mentioned.
Four different guests to the Ghriba synagogue on Djerba Island and 5 extra safety officers had been wounded within the assault, in accordance with the ministry.
In an announcement, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry recognized the 2 worshippers killed as a Tunisian, aged 30, and a French nationwide, aged 42, however didn’t give their names.
The assault occurred after the assailant first shot useless a colleague and took his ammunition, in accordance with the Interior Ministry.
He then went to the Ghriba synagogue – Africa’s oldest – as tons of of individuals had been collaborating within the annual pilgrimage, which was drawing to a detailed on Tuesday evening.
The synagogue was beforehand focused in a suicide truck bombing that killed 21 in 2002.
“Investigations are continuing in order to shed light on the motives for this cowardly aggression,” the ministry mentioned, refraining from referring to the capturing as a terrorist assault.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned the capturing.
“The United States deplores the attack in Tunisia coinciding with the annual Jewish pilgrimage that draws faithful to the El Ghriba Synagogue from around the world,” he mentioned on Twitter.
“We express condolences to the Tunisian people and commend the rapid action of Tunisian security forces.”
The French embassy in Tunisia introduced it had arrange a “crisis unit” and an emergency hotline following the assault.
The sound of gunshots on the synagogue had sparked panic among the many tons of of pilgrims, native media reported.
According to organizers, greater than 5,000 Jewish trustworthy, largely from abroad, participated on this yr’s pilgrimage to Ghriba, which resumed in 2022 after two years of pandemic-related suspension.
Heart of custom
Coming between Passover and Shavuot, the pilgrimage to Ghriba is on the coronary heart of Jewish custom in Tunisia, the place solely about 1,500 members of the religion dwell – primarily on Djerba – in contrast with round 100,000 earlier than independence in 1956.
Pilgrims additionally journey from Europe, the United States and Israel to participate, though their numbers have dropped for the reason that assault in 2002.
Tuesday’s capturing got here because the tourism business in Tunisia was lastly having fun with a rebound from pandemic-era lows, in addition to from the aftereffects of a pair of assaults in Tunis and Sousse in 2015 that killed dozens of international guests.
Tunisia skilled a growth in Islamist militancy after the Arab Spring ousted dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, however authorities declare to have made important progress within the struggle towards terrorism in recent times.
The Ghriba assault additionally comes as Tunisia goes by way of a extreme monetary disaster that has worsened since President Kais Saied seized energy in July 2021 and rammed by way of a structure that gave his workplace limitless powers and neutered parliament.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
