A pair of suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously in the Tunisian capital of Tunis today, killing at least one police officer and wounding several others, including passers-by, according to the Interior Ministry. The blasts came amid news that Tunisia’s 92-year-old President Beji Caid Essebsi was rushed to the hospital. The Tunisian presidency said Essebsi had suffered a severe health crisis, and Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed denied reports that the veteran secular politician had died.
One of the assailants blew himself up close to a security patrol near the French Embassy on Rue Charles de Gaulle, the Ministry of Interior confirmed, leaving a trail of body parts beside a bullet-riddled vehicle. The second bomber struck the headquarters of the counterterrorism headquarters in al-Qarjani district, wounding at least four people. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.