TUNIS: A man lunged at Tunisian police with an axe and a knife in central Tunis on Friday before officers shot and wounded him with rubber-tipped bullets, witnesses and police said.
Video footage taken by witnesses showed the bearded man brandishing an axe outside the interior ministry in the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue.
Several passers-by intervene, throwing metal barriers in his path, before a police officer shoots him twice and he falls to the ground.
A police officer at the site said the “extremist” had been trying to attack security forces outside the heavily guarded ministry, which is surrounded by portable metal barriers.
“He had a knife in one hand and an axe in the other and was running toward the ministry shouting ‘Allahu akbar (God is greatest)’,” the officer said.
The interior ministry did not make any immediate official comment.
Lotfi, who witnessed the incident, said police “threw barriers at him but he continued to run and threaten police with his knife and his axe.”
Members of the public can be heard in video footage of the incident shouting at police to shoot the man.
A police officer told AFP the man had been shot with rubber-tipped bullets and taken to hospital.
Tunisia saw several deadly jihadist attacks following its 2011 revolution that overthrew longtime dictator Zine El Abidine ben Ali, notably in 2015 when 38 people, mostly Britons, were killed in a beachside shooting rampage.
The last deadly attack took place in September last year, when attackers with knives killed a Tunisian National Guard officer and wounded another Sunday before three assailants were later shot dead in a firefight.
Friday’s incident comes four months after President Kais Saied seized far-reaching powers amid a deepening economic and political crisis.
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Tunis police fend off attack by axe-wielding extremist
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Tunis police fend off attack by axe-wielding extremist
- Video footage taken by witnesses showed the bearded man brandishing an axe outside the interior ministry
- Several passers-by intervene, throwing metal barriers in his path, before a police officer shoots him twice
Hamas armed wing confirms spokesman killed by Israel in August
GAZA CITY: Hamas’s armed wing confirmed on Monday the death of its spokesperson, Abu Obeida, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released a video statement on its Telegram channel, saying: “We pause in reverence before... the masked man loved by millions... the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.”
Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30.
During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir Al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas’s military wing, particularly those related to prisoner-exchange operations.
Born on February 11, 1985, and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
He later became the group’s sole spokesman, delivering video statements in military uniform with his face consistently concealed by a red keffiyeh.
He had been the target of multiple Israeli assassination attempts.
According to Hamas officials, Abu Obeida embodied what they describe as “resistance” and was known for fiery and impactful speeches, many of which included threats against Israel or announcements of military operations.
“For many years, only a very small circle of Hamas officials knew his true identity,” a Hamas official told AFP.
Israel has decimated Hamas’s leadership, saying it seeks to eradicate the group following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.
The video announcing Abu Obeida’s death was delivered by a masked man dressed in the former spokesperson’s distinctive style, who said he would adopt his predecessor’s name for future statements.
In the same video, he also announced the deaths of four other Hamas commanders in Israeli attacks during the war.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released a video statement on its Telegram channel, saying: “We pause in reverence before... the masked man loved by millions... the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.”
Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30.
During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir Al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas’s military wing, particularly those related to prisoner-exchange operations.
Born on February 11, 1985, and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
He later became the group’s sole spokesman, delivering video statements in military uniform with his face consistently concealed by a red keffiyeh.
He had been the target of multiple Israeli assassination attempts.
According to Hamas officials, Abu Obeida embodied what they describe as “resistance” and was known for fiery and impactful speeches, many of which included threats against Israel or announcements of military operations.
“For many years, only a very small circle of Hamas officials knew his true identity,” a Hamas official told AFP.
Israel has decimated Hamas’s leadership, saying it seeks to eradicate the group following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.
The video announcing Abu Obeida’s death was delivered by a masked man dressed in the former spokesperson’s distinctive style, who said he would adopt his predecessor’s name for future statements.
In the same video, he also announced the deaths of four other Hamas commanders in Israeli attacks during the war.
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