The gun attack on a military barracks that reportedly killed eight people in central Tunis on Monday was not a terrorist attack, a defence ministry spokesman said, denying an earlier statement by the interior ministry.
"It was not a terrorist attack," Belhassen Oueslati stated.
Al-Jazeera said seven soldiers were shot dead and the gunman was killed in the attack near the Bardo national museum, where on 18 March, 22 people, mainly tourists, were killed in a jihadist gun assault.
Tunisian media reported that the gunman in Monday's attack on the Bouchoucha barracks was an off-duty sergeant who opened fire on a colonel and eight soldiers, seven of whom died of their injuries.
Fifteen soldiers were wounded in the attack and were receiving treatment at the military hospital in Tunis, Arab media said.
Earlier, Tunisian interior ministry was cited as saying Monday's shooting was a terrorist attack.
A local school was evacuated after the shooting at the barracks, which is also close to the parliament building.
Tunisian security forces have been on alert since the Bardo museum attack.
Since the 2011 ouster of secular dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has been battling militant groups with links to ISIS and Al-Qaeda which have carried out attacks on security forces.
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