Skip to main content

4 killed in Benghazi suicide blast

Suicide bomb in Libya's troubled eastern city of Benghazi kills four and injures several others
Burnt-out vehicles surround Tripoli airport, which has been the site of fierce fighting in the past week (AFP)

Three military personnel and the bomber were killed in a suicide attack late on Tuesday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

"A bomber blew himself up outside the main gate of a camp of the Libyan Special Forces in Benghazi," a military official told Anadolu Agency.

He said that three military personnel had been killed and several others injured in the explosion.

Tuesday's attack followed two days of deadly fighting between army troops and members of the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia militia in the city's Bouatni district after the latter attacked an army base in the area.

At least 30 people have been killed and 86 others injured in the clashes.

Benghazi has been the scene of mounting crime and militancy since the 2011 ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

The city has also witnessed sporadic fighting between forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar and Islamist militias, the latter of which have become a common feature of post-Gaddafi Libya.

In May, Haftar declared war on armed militias based in eastern Libya, vowing to "purge" the country of "extremists."

The Libyan government, for its part, has called the former general's campaign a "coup."

After serving as army chief-of-staff under Gaddafi, Haftar spent nearly two decades in the United States in exile before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the uprising against the long-serving autocrat.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters

Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

 
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.