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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Tom Davidson

Gunman kills three in attack near Africa’s oldest synagogue on Tunisian island

A gunman shot dead three people and wounded nine others in a gun attack near the oldest synagogue in Africa on Tuesday.

The attacker opened fire near El-Ghriba worshipping place on the Tunisian island of Djerba.

The three victims included a security guard, and two visitors, according to the Tunisian Interior Ministry.

Security forces were able to shoot dead the gunman.

The attack came amid an annual pilgrimage to the island of Djerba that draws hundreds of Jewish people from Europe and Israel, Reuters reported.

La Ghriba is Africa’s oldest synagogue, a revered and iconic location at the heart of the island, according to Reuters, built on the site of a Jewish temple that is believed to date back almost 1,900 years.

Authorities did not identify a motive for the attack, but Islamist militants have previously targeted the pilgrimage in Djerba and have staged other attacks in the country, according to Reuters.

One of the most well-known attacks is the 2002 truck bombing by al Qaeda militants, which killed 21 Western tourists – prompting high security at the synagogue in the following years.

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