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Extremist Arrested after Knife Attack Near Tunisia’s Parliament

Extremist Arrested after Knife Attack Near Tunisia’s Parliament

Wednesday, 1 November, 2017 - 13:00
An AFP file photo shows a policeman in Bardo square in Tunis.

A suspected militant was arrested on Wednesday after wounding two policemen in a knife attack near the parliament building in the Tunisian Capital, the interior ministry said.


The assailant was known to authorities and said after the attack that he considered the police to be "tyrants", according to the statement.


One of the policemen was taken to hospital for treatment after being injured in the neck, while the other was only lightly wounded, it said.


Large numbers of police were deployed to Tunis’ Bardo square in the aftermath of the attack, a witness said. Blood could be seen on the ground in the square.


The square is opposite the parliament building and close to the Bardo museum, the site of a militant attack against foreign tourists that killed 21 people in March 2015.


An official at the police station where the man was taken after being detained said the attacker was in his 20s and appeared "very aware of what he did".


"He spoke calmly and showed no remorse," the official said, asking to remain anonymous.


Tunisia suffered two other major attacks that year, one against tourists at the beach resort of Sousse and the other against presidential guards in the capital.


Since then, security has been boosted at strategic sites while Tunisian authorities have cracked down on militants, dismantling dozens of networks.


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