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Suspected militant blows himself up on streets of Tunis

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Authorities inspect the scene after a man reported to be wearing an explosive belt died in the Intilaka area in Tunis, Tunisia July 3, 2019. REUTERS

A suspected militant blew himself up on Tuesday evening after the security forces surrounded him in the district of Al-Intilaqa in Tunis, the Interior Ministry said.

Authorities identified the attacker as Aymen Smiri.

Witnesses say Smiri was dressed in women’s clothes when police made their move on him.

The Interior Ministry says police tracked Smiri for several hours and finally cornered him Al-Intalaqa. Officers opened fire on him and shortly after that, Smiri detonated a bomb, killing himself.

No one else was hurt in the incident.

The third such incident within a week in Tunis comes months before an election and at the height of the tourism season in which Tunisia was hoping for a record number of visitors.

Two suicide bombers had blown themselves up in separate attacks on police in Tunis on Thursday, killing one police officer and wounding several other people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the two attacks.

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