Tunisian PM: At Least 19 Dead, 22 Injured in Art Museum Attack
Gunmen entered the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, on Wednesday and killed eight, taking several hostages, the New York Times reports. Reports say the unnamed gunmen were wearing military uniforms.
The gunmen killed seven tourists and one Tunisian in the raid, and the nearby Parliament museum was evacuated after the attack. According to officials, six others were injured in the shooting. Two gunmen, the BBC reports, are "holed up inside the museum," having taken an undetermined number of hostages.
The museum has now been surrounded by security forces, Reuters reports. The nearly 200 other people in the museum at the time of the shooting were reportedly able to escape.
While the identity and the motive of the shooters has not been discovered, the BBC reports that a meeting regarding anti-terrorism laws was occurring in the Parliament building.
UPDATE 3/18/15, 11:18 a.m.: The Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid is saying that nineteen people were killed in the National Bardo Museum on Wednesday, an increase from the previously reported eight killed. The two gunmen were among the people killed. ABC News reports that at least 22 people have been injured, and that tourists were attacked when they were getting off a bus to enter the museum.
BREAKING: Tunisian PM: 19 dead, including 17 foreign tourists, in Tunis terror attack: http://t.co/diqN4eOkZI pic.twitter.com/ig0uMrDJAw
— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) March 18, 2015
UPDATE 3/18/15, 10:30 a.m.: Reuters reports that all hostages have been freed from the Bardo Museum and the rescue operation is over. There is no word on the apprehension of the gunmen.
BREAKING: Tunisian forces have freed all hostages held at Tunis museum after militant attack, rescue operation over: official
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) March 18, 2015
footage taken outside the #BardoMuseum in Tunis show security forces attempting to enter the building https://t.co/qWKRcbFcO8 #Tunisia
— Megan Specia (@meganspecia) March 18, 2015
Continuing coverage & reaction to the #Tunis museum attack http://t.co/8EzHD0XwpL pic.twitter.com/yrjv39kGd0
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 18, 2015
[Image via Getty]