A police officer was killed and five others were wounded, as well as a civilian, in a suicide bombing perpetrated Friday in front of the American embassy in Tunis, first attack in the Tunisian capital since that claimed by the Islamic State group (EI) in June 2019. At the end of the morning, a strong explosion shook the Berges du Lac district, about ten kilometers from the city center, where the American Embassy is located, protected by major security barrages. .
Read also: Tunis: a double suicide attack in front of the American embassy
The two assailants who arrived on two-wheelers set off their explosive charges when the police on guard outside the embassy approached, police said. A badly damaged police van and debris blown 200 meters around bore witness to the violence of the blast. The attack was not claimed on Friday evening.
A 52-year-old lieutenant died of his injuries. Five other police officers were affected as well as a woman, slightly reached, indicated the Minister for the Interior Hichem Mechichi, specifying that they were in a stable state. "It was a homemade explosive device and we are looking for those who participated in its manufacture," added the minister.
Read also: Tunisia adopts a government after four months of procrastination
Several media have reported on police raids in two working-class neighborhoods north of Tunis. "All the security units have been placed on high alert , " said the interior ministry. According to his spokesman Khaled Ayouni, "it was the police patrol that was targeted rather than the embassy" . US Ambassador Donald Blome praised the authorities' "immediate protection" .