Tunisia explosion: Capital rocked after two suicide attacks – 1 police officer dead

From the Express and Reuters

TUNISIA has been rocked after two suicide bombers blew themselves up in separate attacks in the Tunisian capital, killing one police officer and wounding several others, the Tunisian Interior Ministry has confirmed. 

The first targeted a police patrol in Charles de Gaulle Street in central Tunis at around 11am. One police officer was killed and at least one other officer and three civilians were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. Shortly afterwards, a second suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station in al-Qarjani district.

Shocking images show a white vehicle destroyed by the blast with debris scattered along the street and into the road on the main avenue Habib Bourguiba.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sofian Zaak said the attackers had not yet been identified, and he called on the public to show strength and not panic. People appeared to heed that message: Within minutes of the attacks, they could be seen sitting as usual in cafes up and down Habib Bourghiba. 

In a show of more open defiance, some 300 people gathered on the same street and held up pamphlets saying: “We do not fear terror, Tunisia is no place for terrorism.” They chanted the national anthem and slogans praising the security forces.

It was not immediately known who was behind the attacks, which come months before an election and at the peak of a tourist season in which Tunisia is hoping for a record number of visitors.