At least nine people were injured when a woman blew herself up in the centre of Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, the interior ministry says.

Eight of those hurt in the explosion on the Habib Bourguiba avenue, which runs through the middle of the city, were police officers.

The ministry has described the blast, near the Municipal Theatre, as a “terrorist explosion”. No victim deaths have been reported at this stage.

Pictures from the scene show a large number of emergency service personnel in the area.

The attack comes at a time when the country’s vital tourism industry is starting to show signs of recovery, more than three years after two deadly terror attacks decimated visitor numbers.

The first, an attack on the capital’s Bardo Museum in March 2015, left 22 people dead. Just a few months later, in June, another 38 people were killed in a resort in Sousse.