At least 20 people - 15 policemen and five civilians - were injured early Monday afternoon in a suicide bomb attack that rocked the downtown area of Tunisia's capital, Tunis, the country's Interior Ministry said, calling it a "terrorist explosion."
Tunisian forensics inspect the site of a suicide attack in the Tunisian capital Tunis, October 29, 2018. /VCG Photo
A 30-year-old female suicide bomber blew herself up near Le Palmarium shopping center on the busy Habib Bourguiba Avenue, said Sofiene Zaag, interior ministry spokesperson.
Some local media reports said the attacker detonated explosives as she carried close to a police vehicle. Ambulances and police arrived at the scene and the area was immediately cordoned off.
Tunisian forensics inspect the site of a suicide attack in the Tunisian capital Tunis, October 29, 2018. /VCG Photo
Tunisian authorities have confirmed that the attacker, from the Mahdia region of eastern Tunisia, and was previously unknown to security services.
Until now there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 62nd anniversary of Tunisia's independence at the Carthage palace in Tunis, March 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi condemned the suicide bombing that occurred on Monday in capital Tunis.
"We believed that terrorism was eradicated, but it is striking in the city center and in the heart of the capital," said Essebsi in a video broadcasted by Tunisian National Television, while in Berlin in preparation for the conference on G20 Compact with Africa.
Describing it as a tragic act, Essebsi assured that Tunisia has not finished with terrorism. "Once again, the security forces pay the bill," insisted Essebsi.
Tunisian police gathering at the site of a suicide attack in the centre of the Tunisian capital Tunis, October 29, 2018. /VCG Photo
This is the first attack on the Tunisian capital since November 24, 2015, when a suicide attack hit the bus of a presidential guard and killed 12 agents in Central Tunis. The attack was claimed by jihadist Islamic state group.
On March 18 the same year, two men opened fire on tourists in Tunis, leading to 21 tourists and one Tunisian policeman dead.
In March 2016, dozens of jihadists from Libya had also tried to seize positions of security forces in the South of Ben Guerdane region, near the Libyan border without success. The attack led to the death of 20 security forces and civilians.
(With inputs from AFP, Xinhua)