Car bomb kills 6 civilians in Libya’s Benghazi

By Jihad Nasr

TRIPOLI

Six civilians lost their lives and more than 20 others were injured in a car bombing early Friday in Libya’s Benghazi city, a security officer said.

“Six civilians were killed, including a child, in a car bomb attack on Jamal street in central Benghazi,” said Capt. Tarek al-Khazar, spokesman of security joint forces of the army and police in the city.

Al-Jalaa and Benghazi hospitals received more than 20 injured people, according to the officer.

An international exhibition since Wednesday for Syrian industries has been ongoing at the bombing site.

“Perpetrators of the crime want to deliver a message to the world that Benghazi is not safe to spark fear among foreign visitors,” the officer added.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- in Tobruk and Tripoli -- and a host of heavily-armed militia groups.