(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Some onlookers rushed in to take pictures, while others fainted in shock or left the scene in tears.
'Get out of here! What are you filming? Go away! Go home,' officers shouted as they tried to push people behind a police cordon.
Several shops and offices closed amid the panic.
Just hours after news of the attacks broke, the presidency announced that Essebsi 'was taken seriously ill and transferred to the military hospital in Tunis'.
Key adviser Firas Guefrech described the 92-year-old leader as in 'critical condition' and in a later tweet said that Essebsi was 'stable', urging supporters to pray for his recovery.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said on Facebook he had paid a visit to the ailing president.
'I would like to reassure Tunisians that the president is receiving the necessary care,' he said, warning against the dissemination of 'false and confusing information'.
Essebsi, the country's first democratically elected president, came to power in 2014, three years after the Arab Spring uprising toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked revolts in several Arab nations.
Civil protection units and police rapidly deployed to Habib Bourguiba avenue, where the interior ministry is located.
'It is a cowardly terrorist operation... [to] destabilise Tunisians, the economy and democratic transition,' Chahed told reporters, noting that it happened as the tourist season was in full swing.
'These [terrorist] groups don't belong in Tunisia and our war against them is... a question of life or death,' the prime minister added.
Upcoming elections
Sofiene Sliti, spokesman for the anti-terror prosecutors, said the suicide bombers wore explosive vests.
The twin attacks also came ahead of presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for October and November.
In April Essebsi said he did not plan to stand for reelection in order to make way for someone younger.
The veteran politician served as an adviser to Habib Bourguiba, the father of Tunisia's independence from France, holding a number of key jobs under him and later under Ben Ali.
Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings, has been hit by repeated attacks since the 2011 overthrow of Ben Ali.
On October 29, 2018 an unemployed graduate blew herself up near police cars on Habib Bourguiba avenue, killing herself and wounding 26 people, mostly police officers, according to the interior ministry.
The Tunisian authorities said she had sworn allegiance to Daesh.
That attack was the first to rock the Tunisian capital for over three-and-a-half years.
In March 2015, extremist gunmen killed 21 tourists and a policeman at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis.
In June that year, 30 Britons were among 38 foreign holidaymakers killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the Tunisian city of Sousse.
And in November 2015, a suicide bombing against a bus carrying presidential guards killed 12, in an attack claimed by Daesh.
MENAFN2806201900280000ID1098697837
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.