The Zliten truck bombing occurred on 7 January 2016, when Islamist militants detonated a

truck bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

at the police training camp al-Jahfal in the coastal town of Zliten, Libya. Libyan authorities said at least 60 policemen were killed and over 200 were wounded. Concrete buildings inside the compound were charred from the blast and their windows blown out; nearby cars were turned into black and twisted metal wrecks. The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya,

Martin Kobler Martin Kobler (born 1953 in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German former career diplomat who served as German Ambassador to Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan. He served as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of United Nation ...

, said the blast was a suicide attack. Wilayat al-Barqah, a province of

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya The Islamic State is a militant Islamist group active in Libya under three branches: Fezzan Province ( ar, ولاية فزان, ''Wilayah Fizan'') in the desert south, Cyrenaica Province ( ar, ولاية برقة, ''Wilayah Barqah'') in the east, ...

claimed responsibility for the attack. They said the bomber was Abu al-Abbas al-Muhajir, who detonated his explosive-laden truck among the Libyan border police at the base. This incident was the deadliest militant attack since the 2011 Libyan revolution, followed by

Al Qubbah bombings The al Qubbah bombings occurred in Al Qubbah, Libya on February 20, 2015. Events Operatives loyal to the Islamic State group detonated three bombs in al-Qubbah, targeting a petrol station, a police station, and the home of President of the Liby ...

which killed 40 people in February 2015.

Reaction

Libya

*Deputy defence minister for the Tripoli-based New General National Congress, Mohammad Bashir al-Naas, vowed to avenge the attack. "The perpetrator is not known but he is a coward. He kills our sons from the shadows. We must avenge them and do everything possible to protect them," Naas told a news conference.

International

*: Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya,

, called for unity in the wake of the attack, saying implementing the political agreement was crucial. Kobler wrote on Twitter: "I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism". *: In an official press release, the

foreign ministry of Egypt The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt ( ar, وزارة الخارجية المصرية) is the Egyptian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Egypt. On 17 July 2014 Sameh Shoukry was appointed Minist ...

said that the "despicable acts of terrorism" in the city of Zliten affirm once again the urgency of supporting the legitimate security apparatuses in Libya, including the Libya National Army. *: foreign ministry of Turkey said in a written statement: "We strongly condemn the deadly terrorist attack that targeted a police training center in Libya's Zliten city", "This atrocious attack has demonstrated once again the necessity of an effective fight against terror in Libya as well as the prompt establishment of national security and stability."

References

{{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , state=collapsed Explosions in 2016 Attacks on police stations in the 2010s Car and truck bombings in Libya ISIL terrorist incidents in Libya 2016 crimes in Libya Terrorist incidents in Africa in 2016 Terrorist incidents in Libya Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 January 2016 crimes in Africa Mass murder in 2016 Zliten Building bombings in Africa

Reaction

Libya

International

See also

References