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Head of Libyan Gov't's Anti-Terrorist Service Injured in Bomb Blast - Source

© AP Photo / Manu BraboA Libyan army soldier stands guard sitting on an antiaircraft truck during the handover of the Nawaseen military compound, which was the headquarters of Libyan militias, in Souk al-Juma district, Tripoli, Libya
A Libyan army soldier stands guard sitting on an antiaircraft truck during the handover of the Nawaseen military compound, which was the headquarters of Libyan militias, in Souk al-Juma district, Tripoli, Libya - Sputnik International
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BENGHAZI (Sputnik) - The head of the counterterrorism service at the Interior Ministry of the Libyan Tobruk-based government, backed by the Libyan National Army (LNA), has been injured in a car bomb blast in Benghazi, a source in the ministry told Sputnik.

"A bomb-laden car has exploded in Sidi Khalifa near the eastern entrance to Benghazi. [The explosion] was targeting the head of the counterterrorism service at the Interior Ministry," the source said.

According to the source, the injured official has been transported to a hospital, and his condition is stable.

Later in the day, the Tripoli-based Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) has accused the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, of shelling civilian infrastructure in the capital and its neighborhoods that took place on Monday.

"In the morning, civilian facilities, enterprises and organisations in the capital of Tripoli, as well as in the areas of Arad, Ain Zara and Al-Hadba were shelled by heavy weapons and missiles of the group led by rebel [Marshal Haftar]," the media center of the GNA operation against the LNA dubbed "Volcano of Wrath" wrote on Twitter.

The blast occurred amid the recently renewed clashes between the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces and the LNA. On Sunday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the death toll in the aftermath of new clashes in Libya Maghreb country between the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the GNA, increased to 147.  

READ MORE: EU Calls on Warring Parties in Libya to 'Dissociate Themselves' From Terrorists

Smoke rises during a battle between Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government and Islamic State fighters in neighborhood Number Two in Sirte, Libya August 16, 2016 - Sputnik International
Death Toll From Libya Violence Escalation Rises to 147 – WHO
On the same day, a Libyan National Army spokesman accused the GNA forces of targeting residential areas in Tripoli with warplanes. Four people were killed in the airstrikes, according to reports.

The confrontation between the two governments started to escalate on 4 April, with the launch of Haftar's forces unexpected offensive on Tripoli.

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