French, Israeli nationals among Tunisia synagogue attack victims: foreign ministries

Tunis, May 10 (EFE).- Two of the four people who died in the synagogue shooting on the Tunisian island of Djerba were Israeli and French citizens, the foreign ministries of both countries announced on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a naval guard opened fire indiscriminately outside the 2,600-year-old Ghriba Synagogue during the annual pilgrimage to the oldest Jewish temple in North Africa, killing two pilgrims and a security guard, and injuring 10.

The attacker also died.

The two pilgrims were cousins, identified as 30-year-old Aviel Haddad, an Israeli citizen living in Tunisia, and 42-year-old Benjamin from France.

Six security personnel and four civilians wounded in the assault were taken to the nearest hospital.

In 2002, a jihadist attack that was claimed by Al Qaeda targeted the synagogue, leaving 21 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

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