Six people have been confirmed dead after a lone assailant on Tuesday night opened fire near a synagogue in Djerba island, Tunisia.
The attack coincided with the annual Jewish pilgrimage to Ghriba Synagogue.
The Interior ministry said in a statement that the armed attacker, a naval security officer, shot his colleague and thereafter turned against pilgrims.
He fired indiscriminately near the synagogue, killing two visitors, including a French national, and a police officer. Police managed to fatally shoot him.
A sixth person died on Wednesday, bringing the synagogue shooting death toll to six, the country’s news agency, TAP, reported.
Tunisia’s Foreign Affairs ministry condemned the attack in a statement on Wednesday, terming it “cowardly”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad extends its sincere condolences and its compassion to the families of the victims and its wishes of prompt recovery to the wounded agents who valiantly responded to this attack and took control of the situation with ability,” said the ministry.
Tunisia has launched an investigation to “determine the responsibilities for this cowardly attack”.
"This attack against innocent people will only strengthen the unity of the country and its determination to continue its relentless resistance to all forms of crime and defeat those behind it.”
The annual pilgrimage to the synagogue usually draws hundreds of Jews from Europe, the US and Israel.
The Djerba island is a major holiday resort in southern Tunisia, 500 kilometres from the capital, Tunis.
More than 5,000 Jewish pilgrims, mostly from abroad, took part in this year’s pilgrimage.
