TUNIS - The toll in Monday's shooting by a mentally disturbed soldier at a security barrack in the Tunisian capital rose to eight, a military spokesman said.

Seven soldiers were killed and 10 others were injured, including one in a critical condition, said Belhassan Oueslati, spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, adding that the perpetrator,

who had a history of psychiatric issues, was shot dead.

"It was an isolated incident," Oueslati told a press conference,

denying that the attack was from outside.

The shooter, who had been moved to "a non-sensitive institution, " was banned from carrying weapons following his "unstable condition," but he managed to take a weapon from a fellow soldier and opened fire on his colleagues during a flag raising ceremony.

Tunisia has been battline suspected Islamist militants since March when two gunmen fired on tourists at the Bardo museum, killing 21 foreigners.

The site of Monday's shooting is not far away from the museum.