Bombing in Benghazi Kills Four Civilians - East Idaho News
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Bombing in Benghazi Kills Four Civilians

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Getty 090612 LibyanFlag?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1368520724125iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BENGHAZI, Libya) — A car explosion Monday in the Libyan city where the U.S. consulate came under siege last year claimed at least four lives while wounding more than a dozen other people.

Authorities in Benghazi say that the blast, which occurred two blocks from a hospital, may have been accidental, with the explosives inside the vehicle possibly intended for other locations.

A group calling itself the Islamist Front of Derna said it planted the car bombs, but there was no way to verify the claim posted on Facebook.

Over the past week, four empty police stations in Benghazi have been bombed, although no one has taken responsibility for those incidents.  There are a number of possible culprits, including criminal gangs, loyalists of the late Col. Moammar Gadhafi or Islamists opposed to the dictator who was killed in October 2011.

What is more obvious is that Libyans are growing increasingly frustrated with the central government in Tripoli, contending that it’s not strong enough to provide security from criminal and terrorist factions.

Monday’s bombing in Benghazi was the first in recent memory that resulted in civilian casualties.

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