Twin Car Bombs Leave Scores of Casualties in Benghazi

Smoke billows during clashes on July 23, 2014, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. (AFP Photo/Abdullah Doma)
Smoke billows during clashes on July 23, 2014, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. (AFP Photo/Abdullah Doma)
TT

Twin Car Bombs Leave Scores of Casualties in Benghazi

Smoke billows during clashes on July 23, 2014, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. (AFP Photo/Abdullah Doma)
Smoke billows during clashes on July 23, 2014, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. (AFP Photo/Abdullah Doma)

The death toll following a double car bomb attack in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Tuesday night has risen to at least 33, officials said.

Ahmad al-Fitouri, a security services official for commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar's forces, was among those killed in the bombing, military spokesman Miloud al-Zwei said.

A senior intelligence official, Mahdi al-Fellah, was among around 50 wounded, the officials said.

An explosives-rigged vehicle blew up in front of a mosque in the central neighborhood of Al-Sleimani, a security source said.

A second car exploded 30 minutes later in the same area, causing more casualties among security services and civilians.

Libya has been rocked by chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi, with two rival authorities and multiple militias vying for control of the oil-rich country.



US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
TT

US Military Says It Strikes Iran-Backed Militia Facility in Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)
A convoy of US military vehicles near Qamishli, Syria, February 2020. (SANA/via Reuters)

US forces conducted strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups for a second day in a row Tuesday in response to further attacks on US personnel, US Central Command said late Tuesday.

In the latest retaliatory strikes, US forces hit a weapons storage and logistics facility after militia groups launched a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi in Eastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that over the weekend the militias had also targeted US personnel with a drone attack and indirect fires at another base, Green Village, where US troops are operating — which prompted the US to strike nine militia targets on Monday in self-defense.

There are about 900 US troops deployed in Syria. No US troops were injured in either attack.