Tanzania says 5 dead in gun battle near French Embassy
DODOMA, Tanzania – Tanzania’s president on Wednesday said five people are dead, including three police officers, after a gun battle with an armed man near the French Embassy in Dar es Salaam.
It was not immediately clear whether the shootout in the heavily guarded diplomatic area was a terror attack. Inspector general of police Simon Sirro told reporters the armed man was a foreigner and police believe he was from Somalia. Sirro also warned the attack could be linked to the jihadist insurgency in neighboring Mozambique, where a growing number of African nations are jointly pursuing the fighters.
The confrontation occurred shortly after President Samia Suluhu Hassan addressed security officials in another part of the city.