Islamic State militants claim attacks on embassies in Libya

  13 April 2015    Read: 1347
Islamic State militants claim attacks on embassies in Libya
A bomb exploded outside the Moroccan embassy hours after gunmen fired shots at the South Korea mission, killing two security guards
Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks on embassies in Libya in the latest strikes against foreigners, embassies or oilfields in the country.

A bomb exploded at the gate of the Moroccan embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli early on Monday, causing some damage but hurting nobody, a security official said, only hours after gunmen attacked South Korea’s mission in the city.

Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said on Twitter that they were responsible for both attacks. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the claims.

Isis has exploited chaos in the north African country where two governments allied to a host of armed groups fight for control four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

The group also claimed two bomb attacks in the Sinai region of Egypt on Sunday which killed 14 people, including 11 security personnel.

The attack on the Moroccan embassy in Tripoli damaged the gate and a residential building next to the mission in the upmarket Ben Ashour district, a security official and Reuters reporter at the scene said. Nobody was hurt.

On Sunday, gunmen fired shots at the South Korean embassy in Tripoli killing two local security guards and wounding a third person, South Korean and Libyan officials said.

A South Korean foreign ministry official in Seoul said there were no Korean casualties, adding that the embassy was staffed by two foreign service officials and one administrative staff member. He said the government was considering relocating, but did not elaborate.

Libyan militants professing loyalty to Isis have claimed several high-profile attacks on foreigners in Libya this year, including an assault on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli and the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

They have also claimed several assaults on embassies such as those of Egypt and Algeria in Tripoli, attacking mostly empty buildings as most countries have pulled out diplomatic staff because of the security situation.

Libya’s internationally recognised government has been based in the east since a rival faction called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August, setting up a rival administration.

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