TUNIS // Kalashnikov-wielding gunmen killed 22 people yesterday, including at least 20 foreign tourists, in a brazen attack on Tunisia’s national museum before being killed in a police assault.
Polish, Italian, German and Spanish tourists were among the dead, prime minister Habib Essid said, adding that two gunmen had been killed.
A Tunisian and a policeman were also reported dead.
Authorities were hunting for two or three potential accomplices to the attack, Mr Essid said last night.
“There is a possibility, but it is not certain, that they [the two gunmen] could have been helped and we are currently conducting extensive search operations to identify the two or three terrorists who possibly participated in the operation.”
Meanwhile, president Beji Caid Essebsi said the government had taken measures “to ensure that such things don’t happen” again.
The gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, opened fire on the tourists as they were disembarking from a bus and chased them inside the museum.
Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said 42 others were also wounded, with health minister Said Aidi saying they included citizens of France, South Africa, Poland, Italy and Japan.
The attack was the worst on foreigners in Tunisia since an Al Qaeda suicide bombing on a synagogue killed 14 Germans, two French citizens and five Tunisians on the island of Djerba in 2002.
Some officials, including the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, had said hostages were taken at the museum but this was not confirmed by Tunisian authorities.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed condemned the attack and affirmed the UAE’s support to Tunisia in its fight against all forms of terrorism and extremism.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Tunisia – the birthplace of the Arab Spring – has struggled to tackle a rise in attacks from extremists.
The Bardo National Museum, a famed repository of ancient artefacts, is next door to Tunisia’s parliament, where work was suspended during the attack.
Politician Monia Brahim said that gunfire from the initial assault prompted parliamentary committees to suspend their meetings as MPs were ordered to assemble in the main chamber.
“There was enormous panic,” another politician, Sayida Ounissi, wrote on Twitter, saying the attack took place during hearings on Tunisia’s anti-terrorism law.
Tunisia has seen an upsurge in extremism since the 2011 revolution that led to the removal of long-time strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Dozens of police and military personnel have been killed or wounded in attacks blamed on militants.
An army offensive against the extremists, who are linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has been under way since 2012, but the ground and air campaign has failed to eliminate them.
The country is also fighting against the radicalisation of Muslim youth, with authorities saying as many as 3,000 Tunisians have gone to Iraq, Syria and neighbouring Libya to fight in extremist ranks, including with ISIL.
About 500 are now believed to have returned to Tunisia.
President Essebsi said the government’s “top priority” was “providing security and the battle against terrorism” after it took office last month following Tunisia’s first free elections.
Tunisia kicked off the Arab Spring with its overthrow of Ben Ali and, despite the continued unrest, has taken pride in forming a stable and democratic government.
The country is hoping to rebuild its once-burgeoning tourism industry, which is struggling to recover from the effects of the 2011 revolution.
Last year, tourist arrivals dropped by 3 per cent.
The Bardo museum, renowned for its exceptional collection of ancient mosaics, is a significant draw and opened a new wing in 2012 following a major facelift.
It boasts objects from the Phoenician period and Punic and Numidian times, as well as Roman, Christian and Islamic artefacts.
Its curator had described it as “the flagship” of Tunisia’s heritage.
Housed in a former palace dating from the 19th century, the museum greeted hundreds of thousands of visitors every year before the revolution. In 2011 the number dropped to about 100,000 but attendance had been recovering.
* Agence France-Presse with additional reporting by Associated Press and WAM
