Wednesday August 25, 2021
Dar es Salaam. Five people including three police officers, one civilian and the assailant have been killed in the mid-day shoot out on Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road near the French Embassy, police have confirmed.
Police also say that six others were injured in the incident that involved a lone gunman on the usually calm section of the Commercial capital.
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.
This was confirmed by head of police operations Liberatus Sabas when briefing journalists after completing a preliminary investigation at the scene of the crime.
The incident happened at the junction between Kenyatta Road and Kinondoni after an assailant approached a police shed and shot two officers at point blank range.
He, however, said the incident had nothing to do with terrorism following rumours currently spreading on social media.
"People should remain calm as police continue with their investigation to identify the unknown assailant and his intention. Further I call on the public to collaborate with the police force especially anybody with information about him, to speed up the investigation," he said
The U.S. Embassy in a security alert warned citizens to avoid the area. The shootout occurred not far from the scene of the deadly bombing in 1998 at the U.S. Embassy.