Policeman killed in shooting near Sousse

A policeman has been shot dead by two attackers on a motorbike on the outskirts of Sousse, the Tunisian coastal city where a jihadi gunman killed 38 tourists in June. Three officers were targeted in the shooting, one of whom was hit and later died, according to the Tunisian interior ministry. 

The officers are believed to have been shot at with a rifle while they were waiting for transportation to the nearby town of Kairouan from the low-income neighbourhood of Hay Zohour.

Rafik Chelly, secretary of state for national security, said: “Unknown assailants fired on three policemen on a road. One of them was hit and died in hospital.” He added that an investigation was under way but was not able to clarify if the attack was the work of jihadi.

An interior ministry spokesman said the two other policemen were unharmed, contrary to an earlier report from Wataniya-1 television.

The attack comes less than two months after a gunman killed 30 Britons and eight other foreign tourists at the Mediterranean resort of Port El Kantaoui in Sousse, an attack for which the Islamic State jihadi group claimed responsibility.