The Pilgrimage of Tragedy

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A security officer shot and killed six people at a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba this week, an attack that took place during an annual Jewish pilgrimage at one of Africa’s oldest synagogues, Sky News reported Wednesday.

Tunisian officials said the unidentified gunman killed his National Guard colleague at a naval installation in Djerba before launching an attack on the 2,500-year-old Ghriba temple.

The attacker fired at police and visitors before being shot dead by security guards. At least eight people were injured, including four police officers.

The dead included two Jewish cousins – one French and the other Israeli-Tunisian – and one police officer. It’s unclear whether the civilians killed were pilgrims.

The island of Djerba – around 300 miles from the capital Tunis – houses Tunisia’s main Jewish community, one of the region’s largest with around 1,800 members.

The Ghriba temple has experienced previous terror attacks.

In 2002, a truck bombing killed 21 people at the synagogue’s entrance during the annual Jewish pilgrimage.

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack.