Tunisian politician Chokri Belaid shot dead in Tunis

unisian opposition politician Chokri Belaid has been shot dead outside his home in the capital, Tunis, his brother and officials say.

They say that Chokri Belaid was shot in the neck and head on his way to work.

Mr Belaid was the co-ordinator of the left-leaning Democratic Patriots party.

Tunisia is gripped by a political crisis as talks on a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle to include a wider range of parties in a coalition led by by the Ennahda party have broken down.

Correspondents say that Mr Belaid was a prominent secular opponent of Tunisia's moderate Islamist-led government, which came to power following its first post-Arab Spring election in October 2011.

On Saturday, he accused "mercenaries" hired by the Ennahda party of carrying out an attack on a Democratic Patriots meeting.

Government spokesman Samir Dilou described the killing on Wednesday an "odious crime", AP news agency reports.

Opposition politicians said it was "a sad day for Tunisia".