Car Bomb at French Embassy in Libya Wounds 3

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) —
Security officers and officials inspect the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy wounding two French guards and causing extensive material damage in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Abdul Majeed Forjani)
Security officers and officials inspect the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy wounding two French guards and causing extensive material damage in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Abdul Majeed Forjani)

A car bomb exploded Tuesday outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, wounding three people and partially setting the building on fire in the worst attack on a diplomatic mission in the North African nation since the U.S. ambassador was killed last year.

The attack in the heart of the capital put new pressure on Libya’s new leaders to rein in the lawlessness that has gripped the country since 2011, when rebels ousted Moammar Gadhafi in a civil war and then refused to lay down their arms.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on the militias and the extremists in their ranks that are fighting the central government in Tripoli for control.

Some Libyans blamed Islamic terrorists seeking to avenge France’s military intervention in Mali to dislodge al-Qaida-linked forces from the northern part of the West African country.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear. On its official website, the Libyan government denounced such attacks, which it said are “directly targeting Libya’s security and stability.”

French President Francois Hollande called the bombing an assault on all countries engaged in the fight against terrorism.

“France expects the Libyan authorities to shed the fullest light on this unacceptable act, so that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice,” Hollande said in a statement from Paris.

The Obama administration also condemned the violence, with State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell calling it “a direct attack on all Libyans who fought a revolution in order to enjoy a democratic future with security and prosperity.”

“We look to the Libyan government to continue its efforts to strengthen security across Libya and to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” he said.

Tuesday’s bombing was the first in Tripoli, which has been relatively quiet. However, the eastern city of Benghazi saw a rise in violence last year, including the Sept. 11 attack by militants on the U.S. diplomatic mission that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The explosives-laden car was detonated just outside the French Embassy in Tripoli’s upscale al-Andalus neighborhood early in the morning, before any of its staff arrived, according to two Libyan security officials.

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