Tunis: Tunisia's Interior Ministry says two gunmen and a security officer have been killed in a raid on a major museum that left several tourists dead.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said on Radio Mosaique that the standoff is over after the raid Wednesday afternoon.
The two gunmen had opened fire on the National Bardo Museum earlier Wednesday. Authorities said at least eight people were killed, including seven foreign tourists, and six people were wounded. Several tourists remained holed up inside the museum before security forces surrounded and then stormed the building.
It was the worst attack on a tourist site in Tunisia in years, and comes as the country is trying to establish democracy and keep Islamic extremists at bay.
A Tunisian official says eight people have been killed in a shooting attack on a leading museum.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said on Radio Mosaique that only one of the dead in Wednesday's attack was a Tunisian. He did not provide nationalities for the others.
The National Bardo Museum is adjacent to the national parliament building, which was being evacuated after the shooting.
The museum is a leading tourist attraction that chronicles Tunisia's history and houses one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics.
It is unclear who the attackers are. Tunisia has struggled with violence by Islamic extremists in recent years, including some linked to the Islamic State group.
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