Tanzanian police announced the death of three of its officers and a private security guard after being shot by an armed assailant outside the French embassy in Dar es Salaam, the country's economic capital, before the police killed the attacker. Police Operations Chief Liberatus Sabas told reporters that the motives of the attacker remain unknown, noting that six other individuals were injured. He added, "It is too early to determine whether this was a terrorist attack; we are still investigating the motives," urging citizens "to remain calm while we investigate this incident."
In turn, the SITE intelligence group, which monitors jihadist websites, reported on Wednesday evening that media outlets linked to the Islamic State confirmed an "attack on the French embassy" in Dar es Salaam carried out by a Somali man, but no one has claimed responsibility. U.S. Ambassador Donald G. Wright expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of this "senseless" attack in a tweet and expressed his gratitude "to the security forces who put an end to the massacre."
The shooting took place around noon on Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road, where many embassies and foreign diplomatic missions are located. Videos published by local media showed a man wearing a white Islamic prayer cap armed with two assault rifles, one in his hands and the other slung over his neck, walking along a sidewalk in front of a bus and a tuk-tuk, pointing his weapon left and right before another video showed him falling to the ground in the middle of the road in front of the French embassy's entrance after being shot.
An eyewitness told AFP, asking to remain anonymous, that "the man appeared to be a mosque imam wearing a white cap. He passed close to me without greeting me, and when I greeted him, he did not respond. He was sweating. Shortly afterward, we heard gunfire." Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan extended her condolences to the families of the deceased and ordered a thorough investigation.
