TUNIS, Tunisia -- A Tunisian naval guard shot and killed a colleague and two civilians Tuesday near a synagogue on the island of Djerba during an annual Jewish pilgrimage, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said.

The attacker was killed by security guards seeking to prevent him from entering the temple, the ministry said in a statement. Ten people were injured in the attack at La Ghriba.

The assailant, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval center in the town of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague with his service weapon and then seized ammunition and sought to reach the Ghriba synagogue, the ministry said.