Suicide Blast in Libya's Benghazi Kills Father, Son
A suicide car bomber struck a Libyan army post in the battleground second city of Benghazi on Friday, killing a father and son, the military said.
Milud al-Zwei, spokesman for the army's special forces, said the blast killed the two bystanders and wounded 20 other people, mostly soldiers.
The bomber was headed for an army post in the central district of Al-Lithi but was intercepted and blew up his car short of the target, he said.
Benghazi has been gripped by a months-long battle pitting Islamist militias against forces loyal to an internationally recognised government and its backer, General Khalifa Haftar.
On Thursday pro-Haftar forces expelled Islamist militias from Benghazi port, an army source said.
He said the Islamists, who had been using the port to resupply with arms, were now cornered in the Souk al-Hut (fish market) district.
But Katibat Rafallah al-Sahati, one of the militias, issued a statement on its Facebook page denying the army had made major advances in the eastern city, which Islamists seized last summer.
Benghazi is one of the least stable parts of Libya, which has been plunged into chaos since a 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The North African state has two rival governments and parliaments, as heavily armed rival militias battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://prod.naharnet.com/stories/en/166436 |