Car bombing targets French Embassy in Libya

The French embassy in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, was the target of a car bombing early this morning (April 24). Two French guards were wounded in the attack according to early reports.

A French official told Reuters: "There was an attack on the embassy. We think it was a booby trapped car. There was a lot of damage and there are two guards wounded."French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned the attack and said that everything would be done to find the perpetrators:"I send my solidarity and deepest sympathy to the two injured French guards and my wishes for their recovery."

Asad Naeeli, a witness living near the embassy, told Al Jazeera that the bomb went off around 7 in the morning: “This is a big concern as a Libyan. You hear about things happening in different cities and now it is close to home. It is a big concern for the security of Libya, it will delay many things."

The car, laden with explosives, was detonated just outside embassy building. The embassy is located in an upscale residential area. As well as wounding the two guards, the blast started a fire that burned some offices inside the building, and also set fire to two parked cars. Nearby buildings were also damaged. A teenage girlin a nearby house was also hurt by the blast.

This incident follows upon the devastating attack targeting the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi last September that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans. This is the first attack on an embassy in the capital. The attack could be by Islamic militants in reaction to French intervention against Islamists in northern Mali.