21 people killed in Tunisia museum attack: official

Tunis: Tunisia's prime minister says 21 people are dead after an attack on a major museum, including 17 foreign tourists - and that two or three of the attackers remain at large.

Habib Essid told national television that the foreigners included tourists from Poland, Italy, Germany and Spain.

He said that two of the attackers were killed in a gunfight with police on Wednesday, and that security forces are hunting for two or three others believed to have been involved.

The attack was the worst in years on a tourist site in Tunisia, which is struggling to solidify its young democracy and prevent violence by extremists.

A Tunisian security officer and a cleaning woman were also killed, the interior ministry spokesman said.

Italians

Italy's Foreign Ministry says two Italians have been injured in an attack on a leading museum in Tunisia's capital, and 100 Italians inside the museum have been taken to a secure location.

Wednesday's attack erupted in the popular National Bardo Museum inside the parliament compound and ensuing gunfight.

Some of the Italians in the museum were believed to have been passengers aboard the Costa Fascinosa, a cruise liner making a seven-day trip of the western Mediterranean that had docked in Tunis.

Ship owner Costa Crociere confirmed that some of the 3,161 passengers were visiting the Tunisian capital Wednesday and that a tour of the Bardo was on the itinerary, but said it couldn't confirm how many, if any, passengers were in the museum at the time.

It said it had recalled all the passengers to the ship and was in touch with local authorities and the Italian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Tunisia's Interior Ministry says two gunmen and a security officer have been killed in a raid on a major museum that left several tourists dead.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said on Radio Mosaique that the standoff is over after the raid Wednesday afternoon.

The two gunmen had opened fire on the National Bardo Museum earlier Wednesday.

Several tourists were holed up inside the museum before security forces surrounded and then stormed the building.

It was the worst attack on a tourist site in Tunisia in years, and comes as the country is trying to establish democracy and keep Islamic extremists at bay.

The museum is a leading tourist attraction that chronicles Tunisia's history and houses one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics.

It is unclear who the attackers are. Tunisia has struggled with violence by extremists in recent years, including some linked to Daesh, or the so-called Islamic State group.

France's 'solidarity'

In Paris, French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday expressed his country's "solidarity" with Tunisia after several foreigners and a Tunisian national were killed in a brazen day-time attack.

In a brief call with his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi, Hollande expressed "the solidarity of France with ... the Tunisian people in this very grave moment," a source close to Hollande's office said.