Death toll rises to 5 in gun attack near synagogue on Tunisian island of Djerba

A tourist visits La Ghriba, the oldest synagogue in Africa, on the Island of Djerba, southern Tunisia, Oct. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

TUNIS, Tunisia -

The death toll from a synagogue gun attack on the Tunisian island of Djerba during an annual Jewish pilgrimage has risen to five, Tunisia's TAP news agency said Wednesday.

Two Jewish pilgrims and three Tunisian police guards were shot dead during the firing spree at the Ghriba synagogue Tuesday.

Tunisian authorities opened an investigation into the attack, and it wasn't known if the Jewish pilgrims were specifically targeted by the gunman, who was quickly slain by security guards before he could enter the synagogue complex. Little is known about the gunman's identity.

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A police guard who had been hospitalized in the immediate aftermath died from his wounds on Wednesday, according to a medical official cited by TAP, while four other members of the security forces remain hospitalized in Djerba, including one who is in critical condition.

Ghriba Synagogue committee chair Perez Trabelsi was in the synagogue during the attack and told The Associated Press of his terror "when the sound of the cartridges broke out."

"I was scared, as were most of the people gathered in the `oukala,' a large space adjacent to the synagogue. Everyone was panicked. Many took refuge in the rooms for fear of being hit by the shots that came from outside," he said.

He was saddened that the pilgrimage to the historic synagogue that is revered in Judaism "was spoiled by those who wish Tunisia harm," he said.

More pilgrims than have been seen in recent years came to Ghribi this year -- around 6,000 people from the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe and beyond, Trabelsi added.

Jews have been living in Djerba, a picturesque island off the southern coast of Tunisia, since 500 B.C. An annual pilgrimage at the reportedly 2,500-year-old Ghriba temple, thought to be one of the world's oldest synagogues, attracts thousands of visitors from around the world.

The first Jews who arrived were said to have brought a stone from the ancient temple of Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Babylonians. The stone is kept in a grotto at the synagogue. Women and children descend into the grotto to place eggs scrawled with wishful messages on them.

Djerba's Jewish population is one of North Africa's biggest, although in recent years it has shrunk to 1,500, down from 100,000 in the 1960s.

Most left following the 1967 war between Israel and Arab countries, and the economic policies adopted by the government in the late 1960s also drove away many Jewish business owners.

Djerba, a dusty island of palm trees and olive groves, lures hundreds of thousands of tourists every year -- mainly Germans and French -- for its sandy beaches and rich history. The Ghriba synagogue itself, said to date to 586 B.C., once drew up to 2,000 visitors per day, Jewish leaders have said.

Israeli and Tunisian authorities and family members identified the civilian victims as cousins: Aviel Haddad, 30, who held dual Tunisian and Israeli citizenship, and Benjamin Haddad, 42, who was French.

Four civilians were also wounded, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said.

The French Foreign Ministry expressed its "deep sadness" at the attack. In a statement, the ministry paid tribute to the "rapid intervention of the Tunisian security forces and stands by Tunisia to continue the fight against antisemitism and all forms of fanaticism."

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli noted that "unfortunately the incident was preceded by a tense period of shouts and harassment of the Jewish community at the site," according to his office.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke with Tunis Chief Rabbi Haim Bitan, and "told him that Israel stands alongside the community in this difficult hour." He said he instructed ministry officials to provide all needed aid. Israel and Tunisia don't have formal diplomatic relations. The European Jewish Congress expressed its "shock and outrage".

"Terror attacks continue to target Jews around the world even when they are gathered in prayer, as we know from countless experiences over the years including at this very synagogue," EJC President Ariel Muzicant said in a statement.

The assailant, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval center in the port town of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague with his service weapon before seizing ammunition and heading toward the Ghriba synagogue, the Tunisian Interior ministry said.

When he reached the site, he opened fire on security units stationed at the temple, who fired back, killing him before he reached the entrance, the ministry said.

Former Tourism Minister Rene Trabelsi told Tunisian radio Mosaique FM that he was at the Ghriba synagogue with family members during the attack. He described the place as almost empty because most visitors had already left the site.

"The shooting was heavy and the attacker tried to enter the synagogue compound," he said. "The counterterrorism officers, who were extremely professional, quickly blocked all exits. A carnage was thus avoided."

Aviel Haddad's sister, Rona, told Israel's Kan public radio that the entire family had immigrated to Israel from Tunisia, and that her brother, a jeweller, travelled to Djerba frequently.

She said that she and her family tried unsuccessfully for hours after the attack to contact him and later learned the news through family friends. Rona Haddad said the family intended to bury Aviel Haddad in Israel.

The president of the Israelite Consistory of the southern French city of Marseille, Michel Cohen-Tenoudji, said Benjamin Haddad, a father of four, was a well-known, very active member of the local Jewish community.

"He was running a kosher bakery in the city center and was known for offering Shabbat bread to people in need," he told French media. "The family is devastated. On a personal level, I feel indignation, horror and sorrow."

In 2002, a truck bombing killed about 20 people at the entrance to the same temple during the annual Jewish pilgrimage. Al-Qaida claimed that attack, whose victims included German and French tourists as well as Tunisians.

In 2015, an attack in Tunisia at the Mediterranean resort of Sousse killed 38 people, mostly British tourists. The Islamic State group claimed the attack, along with attacks that year on the famed Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis and on a bus carrying presidential guards.

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Thomas Adamson reported from Paris. Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, contributed to this story.