Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni
said Thursday that it was possible that four Italians were
killed in Wednesday's terror attack at a Tunis museum.
Gentiloni said two Italians were confirmed dead, while two
others were unaccounted for.
The overall toll of the mid-day attack was said to be 22
dead, included two terrorists, and 50 seriously injured, most
likely tourists visiting for the day.
"It's possible that there are four Italian victims, but we
are waiting for official confirmation," Gentiloni told RAI
television.
The Italian casualties had reached Tunis aboard the Costa
Fascinosa cruise ship, sources at the Italian embassy in the
Tunisian capital said.
Among them is Francesco Caldara, a pensioner from the city
of Novara, relatives told ANSA.
His wife Sonia Reddi was wounded but not fatally.
The other confirmed Italian victim is Orazio Conte, a
computer expert and Turin native.
Tunisian Premier Habib Essid said the death toll included
visitors from Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
No one initially claimed responsibility although Islamic
State (ISIS) terrorists reportedly applauded the attack on
Twitter.
Tunisian 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.
Italian 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 high commissioner for 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 Italy would not
be "intimidated" describing the terror attack as "vile and
hateful" and "heinous and cowardly act, committed against
defenseless people".
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