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Tunisia capital rocked by blast

The Tunisian capital Tunis has been hit by two apparent suicide attacks which have left scores of civilians and police injured

June 27, 2019 at 1:32 pm

The Tunisian capital Tunis has been hit by two apparent suicide attacks which have left scores of civilians and police injured.

This morning two suicide bombers reportedly struck Tunis almost simultaneously, targeting Tunisian security forces.

The first explosion took place near a police patrol on the central Charles de Gaulle Street, not far from the French Embassy, shortly before 11:00 local time [10:00 GMT]. According to Tunisia’s Interior Ministry, “one police officer was killed, while another was injured”. Three civilians were also reported wounded.

Initial reports to Agence France Press (AFP) added that “body parts were strewn in the road” around the police car.

Around the same time, a second attack occurred near the entrance to the Tunisian government’s anti-terrorism brigade headquarters in Al-Qarjani district. Four security personnel were reportedly wounded in that attack, though the total number of casualties as yet remains unknown.

No one has thus far claimed responsibility for the attacks.

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Although Tunisia has suffered terrorist attacks in the past, such incidents have been rare in recent years.

In October, a female suicide bomber struck Tunis’ city centre, killing herself and injuring nine others, eight of whom were police officers. Interior Ministry spokesperson Sofiene Zaag told reporters that “a 30-year-old woman blew herself up in a police vehicle located in the Tunisian capital’s popular Habib Bourguiba Avenue,” though no group claimed responsibility for the attack.

October’s attack was the first incident since 2015, when a suicide bombing killed 12 security agents on a bus carrying presidential guards. The attack was claimed by Daesh and was Tunisia’s third terrorist attack that year. In June 38 people – many of whom were tourists – were killed in a shooting rampage at Tunisia’s coastal resort of Sousse, while in March an attack on Tunis’ National Bardo Museum left 22 people dead.

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