by Rashida Adjani and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tunis/London
2 minutes ago
The Foreign Office says it is investigating and holding discussions over whether to bring tourists home.
Prime Minister David Cameron offered "solidarity in fighting this evil of terrorism".
At least one gunman has been shot dead and another is being pursued, officials say.
Tourists described "bullets whizzing around us" and scenes of "panic" at the Port El Kantaoui district. Some also reported seeing bodies being removed.
The UK's terror level remains at severe. But police are putting in place additional security measures for events this weekend, including Armed Forces Day and Pride London.
A man from south Wales is believed to be among the injured.
Saera Wilson said her fiancee, gas engineer Matthew James, 30, from Trehafod, near Pontypridd, was trying to protect her when the gunmen opened fire.
Ms Wilson, 26, said Mr James, known as Sas, was hit in the shoulder, chest and hip.
An Irish woman in her 50s is among the dead, the Irish government confirmed.
The woman from County Meath, was on holiday with her husband who made contact with the Irish consular authorities.
Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said he could not rule out the possibility that other Irish people had also been killed.
Earlier, a statement from the Foreign Office said gunmen attacked the Imperial Hotel and Hotel Club Riu Bellevue at Port El Kantaoui.
It added that some attackers may still be at large and urged those nearby to remain indoors, and contact their tour operator and the Foreign Office on 020 7008 0000.
"For security reasons they should not advertise their location on social media or when speaking to journalists," the statement added.
"You could see within seconds of the noise breaking out that people started to exit the beach very, very quickly.
"It seemed to be happening 150 yards to our left. The people in the direct vicinity of the incident were breaking in all kinds of different directions.
"There was confusion. No-one knew what seemed to be breaking out. My wife was shouting to my son to get out the sea, and as he ran up the beach he said 'I just saw someone get shot'."
He also said that he heard an explosion on an adjacent hotel complex.
Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents, said around 20,000 visitors were currently on holiday with Abta members in Tunisia but added that there will also be a number of holidaymakers who have travelled independently.
The RIU group, which runs the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel, said in a statement that the majority of the guests are "from the UK and other central European countries".
She said: "My friend stood up and saw a man with the gun firing. We got up and ran, but we didn't know where to go."
Steve Johnson, who is staying at the Imperial Marhaba hotel, was on the beach when the attack began. He says he tried to make sure others were safe until police arrived.
He told the BBC: "We shouted to everybody around us who joined the sort of mass rush from the beach and we ended up in the spa area of the hotel where we sort of tried to organise people to get themselves concealed away from windows, got the staff to lock all the doors.
"We stayed there until we started to see armed police officers and waited until we were told it was safe to come out."
Mr Cameron added: "We have got to do all we can to help.
"That means co-operating on counter-terrorism, building our capacity on counter-terrorism, it means dealing with the threat at source whether that is Isil [also known as Islamic State] in Syria and Iraq or whether it is other extremist groups around the world."
Mr Hammond has tweeted that his thoughts are "with all those caught up in today's appalling attacks".
2 minutes ago
At least five Britons were killed in
an attack on a beach near the popular Tunisian resort town of Sousse,
Foreign secretary Philip Hammond has said.
At least 37 people are dead, including Tunisians, Germans and Belgians, Tunisia's health ministry said.The Foreign Office says it is investigating and holding discussions over whether to bring tourists home.
Prime Minister David Cameron offered "solidarity in fighting this evil of terrorism".
At least one gunman has been shot dead and another is being pursued, officials say.
Tourists described "bullets whizzing around us" and scenes of "panic" at the Port El Kantaoui district. Some also reported seeing bodies being removed.
The UK's terror level remains at severe. But police are putting in place additional security measures for events this weekend, including Armed Forces Day and Pride London.
A man from south Wales is believed to be among the injured.
Saera Wilson said her fiancee, gas engineer Matthew James, 30, from Trehafod, near Pontypridd, was trying to protect her when the gunmen opened fire.
Ms Wilson, 26, said Mr James, known as Sas, was hit in the shoulder, chest and hip.
An Irish woman in her 50s is among the dead, the Irish government confirmed.
The woman from County Meath, was on holiday with her husband who made contact with the Irish consular authorities.
Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said he could not rule out the possibility that other Irish people had also been killed.
Earlier, a statement from the Foreign Office said gunmen attacked the Imperial Hotel and Hotel Club Riu Bellevue at Port El Kantaoui.
It added that some attackers may still be at large and urged those nearby to remain indoors, and contact their tour operator and the Foreign Office on 020 7008 0000.
"For security reasons they should not advertise their location on social media or when speaking to journalists," the statement added.
'Panic' and 'confusion'
Gary Pine, from Bristol, who is on holiday with his wife and son at the El Mouradi Palm Marina hotel, said he had been on the beach with his family about noon when he heard a sound he initially thought was firecrackers."You could see within seconds of the noise breaking out that people started to exit the beach very, very quickly.
"It seemed to be happening 150 yards to our left. The people in the direct vicinity of the incident were breaking in all kinds of different directions.
"There was confusion. No-one knew what seemed to be breaking out. My wife was shouting to my son to get out the sea, and as he ran up the beach he said 'I just saw someone get shot'."
He also said that he heard an explosion on an adjacent hotel complex.
Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents, said around 20,000 visitors were currently on holiday with Abta members in Tunisia but added that there will also be a number of holidaymakers who have travelled independently.
The RIU group, which runs the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel, said in a statement that the majority of the guests are "from the UK and other central European countries".
'Mass rush'
Debbie Horsfall, from Huddersfield, was on the beach with her friend when the shooting began.She said: "My friend stood up and saw a man with the gun firing. We got up and ran, but we didn't know where to go."
Steve Johnson, who is staying at the Imperial Marhaba hotel, was on the beach when the attack began. He says he tried to make sure others were safe until police arrived.
He told the BBC: "We shouted to everybody around us who joined the sort of mass rush from the beach and we ended up in the spa area of the hotel where we sort of tried to organise people to get themselves concealed away from windows, got the staff to lock all the doors.
"We stayed there until we started to see armed police officers and waited until we were told it was safe to come out."
Appalling attacks'
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Cameron said there would be a meeting of the UK government's emergency Cobra group on Friday afternoon. It will be chaired by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.Mr Cameron added: "We have got to do all we can to help.
"That means co-operating on counter-terrorism, building our capacity on counter-terrorism, it means dealing with the threat at source whether that is Isil [also known as Islamic State] in Syria and Iraq or whether it is other extremist groups around the world."
Mr Hammond has tweeted that his thoughts are "with all those caught up in today's appalling attacks".
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