Tunisia Shooting Update: Museum Hostages Freed, Terrorists Dead

The latest information about a deadly attack at a popular Tunisian destination is over. According to Fox News, 19 people, were killed in the Tunisia shooting. The gunmen and a police officer are also among the dead. However, all hostages were freed and safely evacuated.

The National Bardo Museum is home to one of the largest Roman mosaics in the world. At least 3,000 tourists were in the area from a docked cruise ship at the time. Authorities say two or three gunmen dressed in military uniforms stormed the Tunisian museum and took hostages. In the end, over a dozen of hostages were killed in the volley of shots fired. A number of others were wounded.

Police soon stormed the facility, evacuated it and killed the shooters in a standoff. According to a Ministry spokesperson, at least one of the dead tourists is Tunisian. A mix of other foreign nationals were present at the time of the shooting.

The perpetrators’ identities are unknown at the time, but law enforcement officials have not ruled out ISIS or another radical Islamic group. Reportedly, police agencies have been struggling to control the rising number of Tunisians — some 3,000 or more — who have fled and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. There are also a number of militants attached to Al Qaeda’s North Africa arm who normally target Tunis, Tunisia police officials.

The embattled country is the center of the so-called Arab Spring, an event that was marked by widespread anti-government protests and violence in 2010. The demonstrations spread throughout Libya and North Africa territories. Radical Islam soon followed to spread its rhetoric and propaganda. The Tunisia shooting is thought to be remnants of this uprise.

The shooting in Tunisia took place just one day after a terror suspect in another extremist attack in the country was killed, along with two opposition Tunisian figures. It’s unknown if Tuesday’s shootings are related to the confirmed deaths.