TRIPOLI // Two bombs struck the residence of the Iranian ambassador in the Libyan capital on Sunday in attacks claimed by the ISIL militant group.
It was the latest to target a diplomatic mission in Tripoli, where most embassies have been closed since last summer as militias battled for control of the city. No one was hurt.
One bomb exploded outside the security gate and a second was lobbed into the residence grounds, said Issam Al Naassa, a spokesman for security services in the city.
“The building was empty and the guard was not at his post at the time”, said another source.
ISIL claimed responsibility for the bombings on Twitter, saying “soldiers of the caliphate [ISIL] launched a double attack on the Iranian embassy in Tripoli with explosives”.
The Iranian ambassador’s residence is in an area of Tripoli where several diplomatic missions are located.
After weeks of fighting in Tripoli that has triggered an exodus of foreign residents, the city was seized in August by the Fajr Libya militia alliance.
Witnesses said windows at the nearby Ukrainian embassy were shattered by the impact of the blasts.
Last month, ISIL militants claimed responsibility for an explosives attack that targeted the empty Algerian embassy.
* Agence France-Presse
