Cairo – The death toll in the early Thursday truck bombing at the police camp in the Libyan coastal city of Zliten has reached 50.
The Director of the Zliten Municipal Hospital, Abdel-Motleb bin Halim, say not less than 21 Libyan soldiers died in the suicide truck bombing at the camp.
The Zliten municipal council official said the explosion that occurred near a crowd of soldiers, at the site where coastguards are trained, also resulted in the injury of more than 40 policemen.
Siarj al-Rashdi, an Official at the Zliten Security Directorate, said no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the bombing was suspected to have been carried out by loyalists of the Islamic State terrorist militia.
“We have information that a boat carrying strangers arrived in the town two days ago.
“Yesterday we mounted a campaign to collect all strangers staying in the town illegally, but unfortunately, this did not stop the disaster,’’ he said.
Zliten is a commercial town not known for sheltering militants and also regarded as a centre for illegal migrants seeking to reach Europe.
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Libya has been gripped by fighting between rival militias since the 2011 uprising that toppled long time dictator Moamer Gaddafi.
The oil-rich country is also split between two competing parliaments, each backed by different militias.
Islamic State has taken advantage of the chaos to establish a foothold in Libya. (dpa/NAN)
