Assailants Ram, Stab Police Officers in Tunisia

Three attackers drove their vehicle into two gendarmes patrolling Tunisia’s seaside city of Soussa early Sunday morning, and then stabbed them before making off with their weapons and police vehicle. One of the gendarmes died in the 6:40 am attack. The assailants were apprehended in another neighborhood of Souse, about 85 miles south of the capital Tunis, before being shot and killed. No organization immediately claimed responsibility. In June 2015, a student who had proclaimed allegiance to Islamic State calmly walked along a beach shooting and killing sunbathers before reaching a hotel pool, where he opened fire again and tossed a hand grenade. In all, he killed 38 people, including 30 British citizens, before being shot dead by police. Tunisia has maintained a state of emergency ever since. The country has been in the news of late primarily due to its inability to maintain a stable government, with the third attempt to swear in a governing coalition succeeding last week following elections in October. Tunisia is the only country to have undergone the so-called Arab Spring of 2011 to emerge with a peaceful transition to democracy, although the country is still bitterly divided.