A car bomb attack targeting Libyan security forces claimed the lives of 22 people and injured another 20, in the country’s second largest city, Benghazi, a spokesman for the forces and medical officials revealed on Wednesday.
The blast occurred in a residential area in the Guwarsha district, the scene of fighting between security forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government and an alliance of Islamists and other opponents.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, however, SITE Intel Group reports that the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, a military coalition in Benghazi composed of Islamist and jihadist militias are claiming to have carried out the attack.
The attack comes after recent airstrikes in Libya by the United States undertaken to assist the security forces in their fight against the Islamic State.The US has authorized a 30-day mission to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya.
United States President, Barack Obama earlier on Tuesday said that it was in the US national security interest to support Libya’s emerging government’s fight against Islamic State.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
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