At Least 60 Killed In Bombing At Police Training Centre In Libya

07 January, Zliten

In Libya, at least 60 people were killed and 200 others injured when a truck bomb exploded in the western city of Zliten near a police base.

According to an official, no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, a local Islamic State affiliate has been trying to gain a foothold in Zliten from its central stronghold of Sirte. Rescue crews have only managed to extract 60 bodies out of the wreckage, a hospital spokesman, said.

Libyan officials said they believed there might be dozens more dead. The base, where 400 police recruits were training, was used by the border police, a Zliten security official said. Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The oil-rich country is torn between an Islamist government in the capital, Tripoli, and a rival internationally recognized government in the east; meanwhile a UN-supported unity government sits in neighboring Tunisia.