Terror kills 63 in 3 continents

37 DEAD IN TUNISIA Bloodshed at beach resort as gunman fires at tourists before being shot dead; comes 3 months after museum attack that also targeted foreigners

SOUSSE (TUNISIA): A youth unfurled an umbrella and pulled out a Kalashnikov, opening fire on European sunbathers in an attack that killed at least 37 people at a Tunisian beach resort — one of three deadly attacks worldwide.

The killings in the resort of Sousse happened at about the same time as a bombing in a Shia mosque in Kuwait that killed 25 and an attack on a US-owned factory in France that included a beheading. It was unclear if the violence was linked but it came days after Islamic State militants urged their followers “to make Ramzan a month of calamities for the non-believers”. In all, at least 63 people were killed.

The nationalities of the dead in Tunisia could not be immediately ascertained but the management at the RIU Imperial Marhaba hotel said most of their 565 guests were from Britain and “central European countries”. Local radio said most of the dead were German or British.

Authorities initially thought there was more than one gunman involved, but top security official Rafik Chelli later said it was just one person — a young student not previously known to authorities. The rampage at the Imperial Marhaba ended when he was shot to death by police.

The carnage began on the beach, where tourists described hearing what sounded like fireworks and then running for their lives when they realised it was gunfire. Video footage of the aftermath showed medics using beach chairs as stretchers to carry away people.