At least several people killed in attack near Tunisia synagogue

Several people were killed and more than half a dozen people were injured after a naval guard opened fire at a synagogue in Tunisia. 

The guard shot and killed one of his colleagues and two civilians as he tried to enter the synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, located off the eastern coast of the mainland, according to the Tunisian Interior Ministry. The shooting occurred during an annual Jewish pilgrimage in the country. 

Security guards shot and killed the attacker. 

The guard, who was affiliated with the National Guard naval center in a town called Aghir on Djerba, first shot his colleague with his service weapon and then took ammunition and went toward the 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue. 

He shot at security personnel once he reached the site, causing the synagogue to go into lockdown before security guards killed him. Six security guards and four civilians were injured in addition to those killed, according to the ministry. 

The ministry said the civilians were a mix of Tunisian and French citizens. 

Authorities are investigating a possible motive for the shooter. 

The incident happened in the midst of an annual pilgrimage that brings thousands from around the world to Ghriba, one of Africa’s oldest synagogues, and during the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’Omer. Djerba is also the home for Tunisia’s main Jewish community. 

Violent incidents have happened during this pilgrimage in previous years. 

A truck bombing at the entrance to the synagogue killed about 20 people in 2002, an attack that al-Qaeda claimed credit for. 

Reuters reported that Tunisia, a predominantly Muslim country, includes one of North Africa’s largest Jewish communities. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.