Benghazi car bomb kills 15

BENGHAZI: A car bomb exploded near a hospital in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi yesterday, killing at least 15 people, wounding dozens more and destroying a restaurant, a top official said.
Deputy Interior Minister Abdullah Massoud said it was only a “preliminary toll” and that the blast caused massive damage in the area of Al-Jala hospital.
A security official had earlier said the blast ripped through the hospital car park.
“Fifteen people have been killed and at least 30 were wounded in the explosion of a car bomb near the hospital,” the deputy minister said.
He said the blast “totally destroyed a restaurant and seriously damaged nearby buildings.”
A witness told AFP he heard a “very loud explosion.”
Four police stations were bombed in Benghazi in recent days — two on Friday and two on Sunday — causing damage but no casualties.
Benghazi has seen frequent attacks and assassinations targeting security officials since the uprising that toppled the Qaddafi regime.
Authorities blame radicals for the violence, including a deadly attack in September against the US consulate in Benghazi that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The latest violence also comes days after the United States and Britain withdrew some staff from their embassies in Tripoli citing security concerns over a flare-up between militiamen and the authorities.