BD”E: Two Jews Killed in Djerba Shul Attack

A Tunisian naval guard shot and killed a colleague and two Jews on Tuesday night as he tried to reach the Ghriba synagogue on the Mediterranean island of Djerba during a Lag BaOmer event, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said. The attacker was slain by security guards, and 10 people were injured.

The motive for the attack was under investigation. It came as Tunisia, once a prized tourist destination and birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, has fallen into political and economic crisis.

Djerba, a picturesque island off the southern coast of Tunisia, is home to the North African country’s main Jewish community.

The victims were identified as two cousins, Aviel Haddad, Hy”d, a 30-year-old dual citizen of Tunisia and Israel, and Ben Haddad, Hy”d, a businessman living in France.

Those injured include six security agents and four civilians, the Interior Ministry said. It did not specify how they were injured or whether they were all shot by the attacker, who was not publicly identified.

The assailant, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval center in the port town of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague with his service weapon and then seized ammunition and headed toward the Ghriba synagogue, the ministry said.

When he reached the site, he opened fire on security units stationed at the synagogue, who fired back, killing him before he reached the entrance, the ministry said. The synagogue was locked down and those inside and outside were kept secure while authorities investigate the motives for the attack, the ministry said.

Videos circulating online showed panic-stricken visitors running while gunshots rang out.

It occurred during the annual Lag BaOmer event, which attracts thousands of visitors from around the world to Djerba.

In 2002, a truck bombing killed some 20 people at the entrance to the same shul during Lag BaOmer. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for that attack, whose victims included German and French tourists as well as Tunisians.