The attack in Tunisia comes just hours after a man was decapitated and dozens more injured at an American owned gas product factory in France by terrorists carrying Islamist banners.

Gunmen have killed at least 27 people in an attack on two hotels in the popular holiday destination of Sousse.

Militants, feared to be from ISIS, exchanged gunfire with security services on a beach packed with British holidaymakers.

The attack took place at the Al-Qantawi resort in the city of Sousse, located 140 kilometres south of the capital Tunis on the Mediterranean coast.

Rebecca Miles, a British tourist who was staying at the Royal Kenz hotel with her boyfriend Dean Anderson, 24, having arrived on Monday told MailOnline: ‘We were told to go back to our rooms because there were reports of a bomb.

‘It happened about half an hour ago – I heard a bang and I thought it was thunder but it was a clear sky so it obviously wasn’t.

‘I heard sirens going off about 20 minutes ago and everyone came running back from the private hotel beach which is about 400 metres from the hotel. Everyone is a bit clueless about what is happening.

‘People are anxious because they don’t really know what is happening and we are now stuck in our rooms. There have been deaths apparently.’

Fellow British tourist Gary Pine told Sky News said: ‘We thought fire crackers were going off but you could see quite quickly what was going on.

‘There was a mass exodus off the beach. My son was in the sea at the time and myself and my wife were shouting at him to get out and as he ran up he said I’ve just saw someone get shot.’

David Schofield said: ‘We heard quite a large explosion…People are running around the hotel. No-one has really been told what to do.’

Susan Rickett, who was staying at the Palm Marina Hotel near Sousse, said: ‘My sister was talking to someone who had seen some people shooting and had shot someone on a sun bed but we don’t know if that’s true.’It sounded like a machine gun going off… and there was a kind of explosion a little bit later.’They’re saying its going on in the hotel next to us. Police were chasing some men, that’s all I know.’

The body of one gunman lay at the scene with a Kalashnikov assault rifle after he was shot in an exchange of gunfire with police, it has been reported.

The Foreign Office said it is aware of the reports and is looking into them.

In a statement, Thomas Cook said: ‘Thomas Cook has been advised of an incident that occurred earlier today in Sousse, Tunisia.

‘At this time, details are not clear as to which property(ies) have been affected, with conflicting news reports.
‘We are currently gathering information and will provide an update as soon as possible. Our teams on the ground are offering every support to our customers and their families in the area.
‘We will continue to monitor the situation, working closely with the FCO and local authorities.’

This morning’s news follows a similar attack in March, when three terrorists attacked the Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis, and took hostages.

Twenty-one people, mostly European tourists, were killed at the scene, while an additional victim died ten days later.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest involving foreigners in Tunisia since a 2002 suicide bombing on the island of Djerba.

 

Via: UK Daily Mail