Egyptian expat killed, another injured in Libyan car bombing

CAIRO – 24 January 2017: An Egyptian expat was killed and another injured in Libya’s car bombing that left 35 killed on Wednesday, with about 60 people wounded, a media officer in the government-run Al-Galaa Hospital in Benghazi told Egypt Today.

The security forces in Benghazi identified the Egyptian expat as Ahmed Ali Osman, who was killed during the terrorist attack, and the injured expat is Mohsen Talat Mohamed. The families of the victims received them from the government-run Al-Galaa Hospital.

Two booby-trapped cars blew up in Benghazi, targeting worshipers. The first explosion struck outside the mosque in the Al Salmani district at around 8:20 p.m. local time as the worshipers were leaving after evening prayers.

Around 10 to 15 minutes later, when security and health officials arrived on the scene, a second powerful blast occurred after the detonation of a car laden with explosives parked on the opposite side of the street.

The second blast also hit an ambulance and caused a higher number of casualties than the first. Health officials said the death toll could rise because some of the wounded are in critical condition.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry offered condolences to the families of the victims of Benghazi’s terrorist attack and wished the injured speedy recoveries.

The ministry underlined Egypt's support for Libya in the face of terrorism and stressed Egypt's denunciation of all acts of terrorism that target the security and stability of Libya.

The ministry exhorted the international community to strictly combat weapons smuggling, which is one of the main reasons behind the spread of terrorism.

Egypt has cautioned of this when Greece seized a weapon-laden ship heading for Libya, Middle East News Agency (MENA) stated.

On January 11, a Turkish freighter, loaded with 29 containers of explosives and other materials that could be used to construct bombs used in terrorist attacks, were seized while sailing to Libya, the Greek coastguard said, according to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA).

“The ship had been a moving bomb that could have had unforeseeable repercussions on people and the marine,” the Greek coastguard said to AMNA.

The European Union and the United Nations imposed arms embargoes that have prohibited the sale, supply or transfer of arms to Libya since 2011.