Car bomb explosion at French Embassy in Libya
Car bomb explosion at French Embassy in Libya
A car bomb exploded outside the French Embassy in Tripoli injuring two French security guards and a Libyan girl. The blast was so powerful it blew the front wall off the diplomatic mission.
During a visit to the area, Deputy Prime Minister Awad Barasi said a 13-year-old girl in a nearby house was injured in the attack and will be taken to Tunisia for treatment.
Barasi, who condemned the attack, said he had spoken with the French Ambassador to Libya, who assured him he will not leave Tripoli. The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack.
Libya's Interior Minister Ashour Shuail, who visited the site along with the country's justice minister, said one of the two French security guards had undergone a surgery in Tripoli and was now in stable condition.
He would not say who the government believes is behind the attack and said the investigation would reveal that. The minister said security will be increased around diplomatic missions in the capital.
Responding to questions about lax security, Shuail said no country is immune to this sort of security breach, not even the United States, referencing the recent Boston Marathon bombings. Residents in the area complained about lax security at the French Embassy.
The French Embassy bombing follows a series of attacks last year that targeted foreign diplomatic missions and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the eastern city of Benghazi. The attacks are believed to be the work of Islamist extremist groups with ties to al Qaeda.
Last September, U.S. Ambassador to Libya - Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in a militant attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.