A man detonated himself outside the US embassy in the Tunisian capital, Tunis on Friday, March 6. Five policemen are reported to have been injured, with the embassy suffering no damage. The man was riding a motorbike and suddenly blew himself up. Several vehicles were damaged in the attack.
US embassy in Tunisia comes under attack
The attack took place in Tunis' Berges du Lac district, where the US diplomatic mission is located, causing panic among pedestrians at the site. In a statement on Facebook, the US embassy said, "Emergency personnel are responding to an explosion that occurred near the US Embassy in Tunis. Please avoid the area and monitor local media for updates".
Several photos and videos have been shared online, that shows damage outside the embassy. In one such video that has been shared online, several police officers can be seen running towards the explosion site.
According to Radio Mosaique, a local radio station, there may have been a second perpetrator. Meanwhile, the area has been cordoned off by the police and nearby schools have been shut, independent.com cited the local media as saying.
Past suicide bombings in the Tunisian capital
In June, last year, the Islamic States took the responsibility for two simultaneous terrorist attacks that were carried out in Tunisian capital. The first attack took place on June 27 and involved a suicide bomber who targeted a police patrol on Tunis's central Charles de Gaulle Street, near the French embassy. The attack left one policeman killed, with another wounded along with three civilians.
A short while later, a second attacker blew himself up on a national guard base in the capital's al-Qarjani district. Four policemen were injured in this attack. ISIS later claimed that those who carried out the two attacks were its "fighters". In October 2018, a 30-year-old woman blew herself up in the middle of the Tunisian capital, injuring nine, eight of whom were police officers.
