3 Dead in attack on Jewish pilgrims in Tunisia

Tunis, May 9 (EFE).- Two worshippers and a member of the Tunisian security forces were killed and 10 other people wounded Tuesday when a naval guard opened fire outside the Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Djerba during the annual pilgrimage to the oldest Jewish temple in North Africa, the interior ministry said.

A guard assigned to the Port of Aghir fatally shot a colleague and took his ammunition before making his way to the synagogue and firing “indiscriminately” at the forces providing security for the pilgrimage, the ministry said in a statement.

The security detail returned fire and killer the attacker.

Six security personnel and four civilians wounded in the assault were taken to the nearest hospital, according to the statement, which said that the synagogue had been cordoned off.

A 2002 al-Qaeda attack on the 2,600-year-old Ghriba Synagogue left 21 worshippers dead.

Tunisia’s Jewish community has dwindled to about 1,000, from 100,000 in the 1940s, with most emigrating to France and Israel.

EFE nrm/dr