Three cars at the Saudi Embassy in Tripoli were destroyed in a fire on Friday, said the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

A ministry official thanked the Libyan authorities for taking action to quickly put out the fire.

Preliminary reports said the fire was caused by a short circuit inside the garage.

“The ministry has sent a team to Libya to investigate the incident along with Libyan authorities,” the official said.

The Libyan News Agency quoted the head of the diplomatic police, Col. Mabrouk Butaher, as saying that the security staff outside the embassy had noticed smoke and raised the alarm.

The embassy has been empty for some time.  Saudi diplomats left Libya in the summer and are currently operating from Tunis.