Tunisian Soldier Who Killed 7 Fellow Troops And Injured At Least 10 Shot Dead

A Tunisian soldier on Monday fired at fellow troops inside the Bouchoucha military barracks in the capital Tunis, killing seven people and injuring at least 10, according to reports. He was later shot dead by police reinforcements sent to the area.

Defense Ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati said, according to the Associated Press (AP), that the situation was now under control and added that the soldier, who was not allowed to carry a weapon, had seized another colleague’s weapon to conduct the attack. While the motive behind the attack remains unclear, Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said, according to AP, that the incident is not being considered a terrorist attack.

"There were dead and wounded," Aroui told Agence France-Presse, adding: "The incident which took place at the Bouchoucha barracks is not connected with a terrorist operation." Aroui added that the shots were only fired inside the barracks, hinting that it may have stemmed from a personal dispute. However, a school in the area was evacuated after the attack.

The interior ministry's elite Counterterrorism Brigade was deployed in the area, while police officials with sniffer dogs checked for car bombs in the region, reports said.

The Bouchoucha barracks are situated near the Bardo National Museum, where a policeman and 21 tourists were killed in March by jihadist gunmen. The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the attack after which a security alert was sounded across the Bardo district.

Militant groups like ISIS and al Qaeda have aimed several attacks against security forces in the country since former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in 2011.