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Bomb explodes outside U.S. Consulate in Libya

07 June 2012 02:10 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A bomb exploded outside the U.S. Consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Wednesday, slightly injuring one person, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The blast took place at a perimeter wall outside the consulate, the Libyan authorities said, adding that a guard of the diplomatic mission was lightly wounded.

According to a security official, the 500-gram bomb was likely to be home-made.

The U.S. State Department in Washington confirmed the attack later and said investigation was launched by the Libyan government right after the explosion.

The state department said it had also asked the Libyan government to step up security around the U.S. installations.

Benghazi, the second biggest city in Libya and also the birthplace of unrest that toppled former leader Moamer Gaddafi last October, held its first city council election since the 1960s last month.

The blast also came two weeks before the country’s first national elections, in which a national assembly will be elected to draft a constitution.

After the death of Gaddafi and a months-old civil war, Libya has faced tough security challenges such as posed by the disarmament of many of the armed groups formed when battling Gaddafi’s loyalists.