Two coordinated car bombs hit roughly 10 minutes apart in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Tuesday, killing at least 35 people and wounding a large number of others. Officials say the death toll is likely to further rise, as many of the wounded are gravely so.
There is no claim of responsibility yet, but the attack wa believed to have targeted officials from Gen. Khalifa Hafter’s Libyan National Army (LNA). A number of LNA soldiers were killed, and a top intelligence official was among the wounded.
The first blast hit worshipers leaving the mosque at the end of prayers. The second, more powerful bomb, was detonated across the street, and hit the ambulance that had just arrived to try to evacuate the survivors.
The second bomb killed some of the initially wounded, and wounded a lot of additional people, including some that were in the marketplace across the street from the mosque. There are several rebel groups active in and around Benghazi, and no sign who officials think was behind this particular strike.