Worshipers report hearing gunshots outside Tunisian synagogue where hundreds celebrating Lag B’Omer

Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter

Worshipers at the Al Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia reported hearing gunshots on Tuesday night, as hundreds of pilgrims celebrated Lag B’Omer on the island.

Initial reports and videos posted online from the synagogue showed some pilgrims, speaking in Hebrew, reacting with alarm to the sounds.

Tunisian authorities maintain a permanent presence around the synagogue, situated near a part of the island where hundreds of Jews live. Security is beefed up during Jewish holidays and especially on Lag B’Omer.

Authorities have initiated a lockdown of the synagogue, keeping about 1,000 worshipers inside as police inspected the area, info-Israel, a French-language Jewish news site, reports.

Al-Qaeda terrorists set off an explosion outside the El Ghriba Synagogue in 2002, killing 20 people, including 14 German tourists.

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