(By Sandra Cordon).
Italy's foreign minister said
Wednesday that three Italians were killed and six injured in a
terror attack at a Tunis museum Wednesday.
The overall toll of the mid-day attack was said to be as
high as 24 dead and 50 seriously injured, most likely tourists
visiting for the day.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni was hesitant to confirm
the death toll early in the evening even as Tunisian Premier
Habib Essid said it included visitors from Poland, Italy, Spain
and Germany.
No one initially claimed responsibility although Islamic
State (ISIS) terrorists reportedly applauded the attack on
Twitter.
Interior ministry officials said several gunmen armed with
grenades and assault rifles attacked somewhere near midday.
The parliament nearby was evacuated as security forces
worked to withdraw as many visitors as possible from the museum,
where gunmen held a number hostage for at least two hours.
Premier Matteo Renzi said the terror attack struck a
blow to moderation in political and social life, and has hurt
everyone.
"Wherever there is an attempt to kill moderation, a blow is
struck against every one of us and against patriotic and
cultural commonality," Renzi said.
Renzi also condemned the terrorists' decision to attack a
museum in the city's downtown - "a symbolic place, a place of
culture that was next to parliament," Renzi said.
Meanwhile, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro
Parolin condemned the bloody terror attack as "cruel, inhumane,
inconceivable".
"This (act) must be condemned in the most absolute terms,"
said Parolin.
"Let us hope there will be no more violence committed in
the name of God".
Federica Mogherini, the EU commission on foreign affairs,
said that terrorist organizations were targeting an
ever-widening range of "countries and peoples of the
Mediterranean region".
She speculated that terrorists from Islamic State (ISIS)
were behind the attacks.
"This reinforces our determination to cooperate more
closely with our partners to address the threat
terrorists," she said.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said the terror attack
was "vile and hateful", a "heinous and cowardly act, committed
against defenseless people".
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