The Latest: 21 killed in Tunisia attack; 2-3 gunmen at large
Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2015
- Tourists and visitors from the Bardo museum are evacuated in Tunis, Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Tunis, Tunisia. Gunmen opened fire at a leading museum in Tunisia's capital, killing 19 people including 17 tourists, the Tunisian Prime Minister said. A later raid by security forces left two gunmen and one security officer dead but ended the standoff, Tunisian authorities said. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s prime minister says 21 people are dead after an attack on a major museum, including 17 foreign tourists — and that two or three of the attackers remain at large.
Habib Essid told national television that the foreigners included tourists from Poland, Italy, Germany and Spain.
He said that two of the attackers were killed in a gunfight with police on Wednesday, and that security forces are hunting for two or three others believed to have been involved.
The attack was the worst in years on a tourist site in Tunisia, which is struggling to solidify its young democracy and prevent violence by Islamic extremists.
Seventeen foreigners were killed, as were a Tunisian security officer and a cleaning woman, the interior ministry spokesman said.
