At Least 19 Killed At Bardo Museum In Tunis

Security officials have killed two gunmen to end a standoff at a leading Tunisian Museum where 17 tourists and one police officer were fatally killed.

Tunisian Prime Minister, Habib Essid, has said that 19 people were killed, including 17 tourists from Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain, at the Bardo Museum in the capital, Tunis.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that two British tourists were among those shot dead.
Another 22 tourists were injured and another two Tunisian men, Mr Essid said.
The policeman was killed as security forces attempted to save those held hostage inside, according to the interior ministry.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said on Radio Mosaique that the standoff is now over, and the hostages are believed to be free.
Describing the shooting as a "terrorist attack", Mr Aroui told reporters earlier today that "two or more terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs" killed seven foreigners at the Bardo Museum in the capital, Tunis.
Amateur video footage believed to be from the scene appears to show Tunisian forces surrounding the museum. 
Live television footage showed tourists running for shelter, covered by security forces aiming rifles into the air.
Images reportedly taken by a hostage which emerged on social media appeared to show around 30 tourists gathered inside a room adorned with mosaics.
Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi is due to make a public statement to the nation shortly, spokesman Moez Sinaoui said.
The UK Foreign Office said it was unable to confirm reports that two Britons were among the dead.
A spokesman said: "We are urgently looking into the serious situation in Tunisia."
At least three Polish citizens and two Italians were wounded in the attack, according to the countries' respective officials.

An official at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome added that around 100 Italians were in the area and had been taken to safety by Tunisian police.
French Prime Minister Manuel Carlos Valls has said France would help its former colony in the wake of the tragic attack.
"We are condemning this terrorist attack in the strongest terms," Valls said speaking after a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.
"We are standing by the Tunisian government. We are very alert about how the situation is evolving," he added.
French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement minutes after the crisis ended: "It is not by chance that today's terrorism affects a country that represents hope for the Arab world. The hope for peace, the hope for stability, the hope for democracy. This hope must live."
Earlier, the TAP state media agency reported that gunshots broke out at the country's parliament at midday.
A witness near the parliament told Reuters a large police presence was moving to evacuate the government building.
The incident marks the first attack on a tourist site in years in Tunisia, since its shaky young democracy was founded in 2011.
Built in the 15th century, the museum stands adjacent to the national Parliament building, and includes one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics.
It is unclear who the attackers are. However, Tunisia has struggled with violence by Islamic extremists in recent years, who emerged after the country's 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
The attack is likely to damage Tunisia's efforts to revive its tourism industry.
It comes the day after Tunisian security officials confirmed the death in neighbouring Libya of a leading suspect in Tunisian terror attacks and the killings of two opposition figures in Tunisia.