According to Tunisia's Interior Ministry, a police officer first shot dead a colleague and took his ammunition. The police then allegedly shot dead two people, a Tunisian and a Frenchman, who participated in an annual Jewish pilgrimage and another colleague. The perpetrator was subsequently killed by security forces.
Four more pilgrims and five members of the security forces were injured in the attack outside the Ghriba synagogue, which is visited by pilgrims from all over the world and is considered the oldest in Africa.
In 2002, the synagogue was subjected to a suicide attack. Then 21 people were killed.
According to the organisers, more than 5,000 people, mostly from abroad, took part in this year's pilgrimage to Ghriba. Pilgrimages resumed last year after being cancelled for the previous two years due to the pandemic.