Flower bouquets are seen at the site of a shooting attack on the beach in front of the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel. Flower bouquets are seen at the site of a shooting attack on the beach in front of the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel.

Some of the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack at a Tunisia hotel have been named, with at least 15 Britons confirmed dead by UK Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood, BBC News reported.

Among the dead are Carly Lovett, 24, Lisa Burbidge, in her 60s, Adrian Evans, 44, and his 22-year-old nephew Joel Richards, Bruce Wilkinson, 72, and couple Sue Davey and Scott Chalkley, 42.

None of the identities of the British fatalities has been officially released.

Ellwood warned the death toll was likely to rise, and said it was "the most significant terrorist attack on British people" since 52 people were killed in the London 7/7 bombings in 2005.

The Tunisian authorities said one Belgian and one German citizen had been identified among the dead, while Tunisians and French are also thought to have been victims.

The shooting, which took place around 12 noon on Friday on the beach and then inside Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba in the resort of Port El Kantaoui, was carried out by Seifeddine Rezgui, a student linked to ISIS.

Police say he had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol and started shooting on the beach before entering the Hotel Imperial Marhaba, continuing to shoot.

He was later shot dead by police.

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Tony Callaghan, 52, from Norfolk and his wife Chris survived Friday's attack but were both taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.

Callaghan sought cover in an office inside the Imperial Marhaba hotel, where he and Chris were staying.

"Six of us took cover in there and I thought my wife was behind me, but she was still in the corridor," he said.

"As soon as we were in the room they started barricading the door, but I looked around and my wife wasn't with me. I could hear her shouting, 'help me I've been shot'. And I was inside and I couldn't get out to help."

Once the police arrived, the barricade was pulled down and Callaghan left the office to see “carnage” in the corridor.

He described seeing a woman next to his wife who had been shot four times in the back, and at least another two female bodies. Another woman had been shot dead in another office, he added.

The pair are still being treated at the Sahloul University Hospital, along with about 18 others who received bullet wounds.

The attack took place during Ramadan, on a day in which a decapitated body daubed with Arabic writing was found in France, a suicide bomber killed two dozen people at a mosque in Kuwait and at least 145 civilians were reported killed by Islamic State militants in northern Syria, Reuters reported.

In a statement on social media, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Tunisian attack. It had urged its followers to step up assaults during Ramadan.

It was the worst attack in Tunisia's modern history and the second major massacre this year following the Islamist militant assault on Tunis Bardo museum when gunmen killed 21 foreign visitors.

Six million tourists, mostly Europeans, visited Tunisia's beaches, desert treks and medina souks last year, providing 7% of its gross domestic product, most of its foreign currency revenues and more jobs than anything but farming.

"This is a catastrophe for the economy," Tourism Minister Salma Loumi said. "Our losses will be great, but the loss of human life was even greater."