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Several hurt in Libya school bomb

February 5, 2014

A bomb blast in a school playground in Libya has wounded at least 6 teenagers. The attack is the latest in a series of incidents in the city of Benghazi in recent days.

https://p.dw.com/p/1B3Eo
Shoes, belonging to victims of an attack on a school, are seen at the scene in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Image: Reuters

Libyan officials said on Wednesday that a student set off an explosive device at a school in the eastern city of Benghazi. At least six teenagers are reported to have been wounded in the attack, two of them seriously.

Spokesperson for Benghazi's main Galaa hospital, Fadia al-Barghathi, said the student threw the device over a wall into the busy playground.

The Associated Press news agency reported that five of the wounded, aged 13 to 17, were treated for their injuries at the hospital.

A security official said the force of the explosion was "weak" and that an investigation had been launched into the attack.

"Witnesses saw an individual throw an explosive device over the school wall during recess," the official told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Unrest in Benghazi

Benghazi has been the scene of near-daily attacks on security forces and other targets in recent months as the central government has tried to rein in former rebel groups, which have become militias.

Militants had also attacked foreign missions in Benghazi, including an assault on the US consulate in September 2012 that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.

The city was central to the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

lw/dr (AFP, AP, Reuters)