At least 19 people dead in attack on 2 hotels on Tunisian coast

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Tunisia's Interior Ministry says two gunmen opened fire on a beach near two hotels in the coastal resort city of Sousse, killing at least 19 people.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Mohammed Ali Aroui said that one of the gunmen was killed and police are pursuing the other.

Sousse, some 150 kilometers from Tunis, is a popular resort for both Tunisians and Europeans.

Aroui said the death toll could rise.

A British tourist close to the scene of the deadly attack described his experiences.

Gary Pine said he was on the beach and heard what "we thought was firecrackers going off" 100 yards away, followed by an explosion from the next hotel complex along.

"There was a mass exodus off the beach," he told Sky News. He said his son said he had seen someone get shot on the beach.

He said guests at his hotel were first told to lock themselves in their rooms, and later to gather in the lobby.

Tunisia has been battered by attacks by militants, most recently in March when two Tunisians returning from Libya killed 22 people at the national museum.