At least 28 people, mostly foreigners,
have been killed in an attack on a
beach near two tourist hotels in the
Tunisian resort town of Sousse,
according to the interior ministry.
Officials say one gunman has been shot
dea
d and another is being pursued.
Interior Ministry officials said Tunisians,
Britons, Germans and Belgians are
among the dead.
In March militants killed 22 people,
mainly foreign tourists, in an attack on a
museum in the capital Tunis.
Officials say six people have been injured
in the attack.
Tunisia attacks: Live updates
Local media reported that the second
attacker had been arrested, but this has
not been confirmed. A photo showing
the body of the first attacker is
circulating on social media.
The attack comes on the same day as:
A man is decapitated and several
others injured at a factory in
France
A deadly attack on a Shia mosque
in Kuwait
A British man on holiday told the BBC
that he heard the attack on a
neighbouring hotel.
From his room, he saw a man with a
pistol but did not know whether this was
an attacker or a member of the security
forces.
The Hotel Imperial Marhaba was named
as one of the hotels close to the attack.
Briton Glenn Leathley told the BBC his
daughter had been at the scene and rang
him to say "there's gunfire on the
beach".
Another British holidaymaker, Steve
Johnson, told the BBC: "We were just
laying on the beach as usual and... we
heard what we thought at first was
fireworks.
"But it was soon pretty obvious... that it
was firearms that were being discharged
and people screaming and starting to
run."
One image circulating on social media
appeared to show a man lying face down
in the sand with what looks like blood
around his head.
The Islamic State militant group had
called on its followers to increase attacks
during the Islamic fasting month of
Ramadan, but no-one has yet said they
were behind this attack.
The Belgian Jetairfly airline has
announced it is cancelling all flights to
Tunisia because of the attack.
A spokeswoman for the Thomson and
First Choice tour operators said: "We are
working closely with our teams in Tunisia
and the relevant authorities to
determine exactly what has happened
and provide assistance to those
affected."
Tunisia has seen militant Islamists gain
strength since the overthrow of long-
serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in a
popular uprising in 2011.
Democratic elections after Ben Ali's
removal saw the moderate Islamist
Ennahda party take power before the
secularist Nidaa Tounes government won
a parliamentary poll in October.
However, neither party has been able
effectively to combat Islamist violence
made worse by a raging conflict in
neighbouring Libya and by Tunisian
fighters returning home after going to
join Islamist campaigns in Iraq and Syria
have been killed in an attack on a
beach near two tourist hotels in the
Tunisian resort town of Sousse,
according to the interior ministry.
Officials say one gunman has been shot
dea
d and another is being pursued.
Interior Ministry officials said Tunisians,
Britons, Germans and Belgians are
among the dead.
In March militants killed 22 people,
mainly foreign tourists, in an attack on a
museum in the capital Tunis.
Officials say six people have been injured
in the attack.
Tunisia attacks: Live updates
Local media reported that the second
attacker had been arrested, but this has
not been confirmed. A photo showing
the body of the first attacker is
circulating on social media.
The attack comes on the same day as:
A man is decapitated and several
others injured at a factory in
France
A deadly attack on a Shia mosque
in Kuwait
A British man on holiday told the BBC
that he heard the attack on a
neighbouring hotel.
From his room, he saw a man with a
pistol but did not know whether this was
an attacker or a member of the security
forces.
The Hotel Imperial Marhaba was named
as one of the hotels close to the attack.
Briton Glenn Leathley told the BBC his
daughter had been at the scene and rang
him to say "there's gunfire on the
beach".
Another British holidaymaker, Steve
Johnson, told the BBC: "We were just
laying on the beach as usual and... we
heard what we thought at first was
fireworks.
"But it was soon pretty obvious... that it
was firearms that were being discharged
and people screaming and starting to
run."
One image circulating on social media
appeared to show a man lying face down
in the sand with what looks like blood
around his head.
The Islamic State militant group had
called on its followers to increase attacks
during the Islamic fasting month of
Ramadan, but no-one has yet said they
were behind this attack.
The Belgian Jetairfly airline has
announced it is cancelling all flights to
Tunisia because of the attack.
A spokeswoman for the Thomson and
First Choice tour operators said: "We are
working closely with our teams in Tunisia
and the relevant authorities to
determine exactly what has happened
and provide assistance to those
affected."
Tunisia has seen militant Islamists gain
strength since the overthrow of long-
serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in a
popular uprising in 2011.
Democratic elections after Ben Ali's
removal saw the moderate Islamist
Ennahda party take power before the
secularist Nidaa Tounes government won
a parliamentary poll in October.
However, neither party has been able
effectively to combat Islamist violence
made worse by a raging conflict in
neighbouring Libya and by Tunisian
fighters returning home after going to
join Islamist campaigns in Iraq and Syria
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