A car bomb struck outside a military base in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday, killing seven soldiers and wounding at least nine, Libya’s state news agency and officials said.
The car, which was loaded with explosives, went off at the gates of the base in Benghazi’s al-Rahba district just as troops were leaving after an inauguration ceremony for new military officers had ended, reported the LANA news agency. It said the explosion tore down the facade of shops and destroyed several cars in the area.
Bodies of the slain officers and wounded were taken to the Benghazi Medical Centre, security and medical officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Initial reports had said that 14 people were wounded in the bombing, but disparate figures are common in the immediate aftermath of large attacks.
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Benghazi, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that led to the downfall of dictator Moammar Qadhafi, has seen a sharp rise in attacks and assassinations targeting military and police troops.
A weak central government in the capital, Tripoli, has struggled to rein in unruly militias, most of which stem from the former rebels who fought Qadhafi.
Benghazi was the scene of a brazen militant attack on the U.S. Consulate on Sept. 11, 2012, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
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Also, near-daily killings in the city have targeted former Libyan officers, judges, and activists.