37 killed in terror attack on tourist beach in Tunisia

Thirty seven people were killed in an attack near two hotels in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse, according to Reuters news agency. A dozen more people were reported to have been hospitalised.

The attack is in the vicinity of the Imperial Marhaba Hotel. According to BBC, at least one gunman has been shot dead and another is being pursued, officials say.

An armed man "entered through the back of the hotel and opened fire", said Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui. “It was a terrorist attack" targeting the Marhaba Hotel in the Port El Kantaoui district, he added.

Tunisia's Secretary of State Rafik Chelli has told local media that the gunman resort hid his Kalashnikov machine gun under a parasol before opening fire and killing at least 37  people.

The gunman came from Tunisia's central Kairouan region, reports the AFP news agency "He is Tunisian, originally from the Kairouan region (in central Tunisia). He is a student," Secretary of State for Security Rafik Chelly told the private Mosaique FM radio.

Gary Pine, a guest staying at the hotel, tweeted, “Gunshots on the beach, mass panic here.”

British tourist John Yeoman tweeted that he had barricaded himself inside his room

Sousse is a popular tourist destination in North Africa, which attracts travellers from Europe, as well as neighbouring countries.