The leader of Tunisian opposition party People's Movement, Mohamed Brahimi, was assassinated outside his residence in Tunis on Thursday, according to reports from the region.

Both Al-Jazeera and Al Aribiya reported the killing.

Al Aribiya cited "political sources and the local radio" in its reporting, saying Brahimi was shot 11 times in front of his residence.

The killing was the second recent political assassination in Tunisia, which helped spark the "Arab Spring" that spread political reform and social unrest across the Arab world in recent years. Just last year, another Tunisian secular politician, Chokri Belaid, was killed and his murder ignited protests around the country.