Hero of Sousse: Mayel Moncef tried to stop Tunisia attack

From his rooftop vantage point local builder Mayel Moncef saw an opportunity to intervene in the attack, throwing tiles down on the head of the gunamn shouting “you terrorist, you dog”.

The attacker was escaping through an alleyway below – when he was struck by the debris he began to fire wildly into the street – at which point police intervened returning fire.

He says a grenade rolled from the attackers hand after he fell to the ground gunned down by police.

Mayel Moncef says of his brave actions “All I did was my duty, the duty of any Tunisian and any Muslim”.

A British man, Mathew James from south Wales, was hit in the hip, chest and pelvis as he shielded wife-to-be Saera Wilson from gunfire at the Tunisian beach resort of Sousse – where 38 people were murdered.

The 30-year-old’s mother Kathryn Matthews said it was the “most fantastic feeling” seeing Saera step off the plane while her son was carried on a stretcher behind her.

He held the hand of an elderly gent who lay dying next to him, totally overwhelmed by it all
Saera Wilson

As well as speaking of her relief, she told friends on Facebook that her son – known to pals as “Sas” – had held the hand of a dying man who had also been shot.

Writing on Facebook, she said: “Sas and Saera are back on home turf and safe.

“So proud of him, after being the first to be shot and making sure Saera got to safety, he held the hand of an elderly gent who lay dying next to him, totally overwhelmed by it all.”

Footage posted online shows the attacker Seifeddine Rezgui practicing his breakdancing.

The footage is thought to have been shot in 2010 and shows Yacoubi wearing jeans, a hoodie and a baseball cap as he performs flips and handstands.

The video was posted to Facebook by a group of his friends and has been circulated online in the wake of the attacks.

Security operation

Hundreds of armed police are now patrolling the streets of Tunisia’s beach resorts and the government says it will deploy hundreds more inside hotels after the Islamist militant attack in Sousse.

Thousands of tourists have left Tunisia since Friday’s attack, which has shocked the North African country that relies heavily on tourism for jobs and foreign currency revenues.

Britain’s Foreign Office warned late on Saturday that Islamist militants may launch further attacks on tourist resorts in after a gunman opened fire on the Imperial Marhaba resort.