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Blast hits court house in east Libya

By AFP
Libya Witnesses said the blast was very intense.  By - AFP
APR 27, 2012 LISTEN
Witnesses said the blast was very intense. By - (AFP)

BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) - A blast ripped through a courthouse in the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday causing serious damage to the building but no casualties, Libyan security sources said.

The explosion punched a hole three metres (10 feet) wide in the walls of the courthouse on Meidan al-Shajara, a public square flanked by several government offices and the National Oil Corp, an AFP journalist said.

It also damaged a court room.

Security sources told AFP "unknown assailants booby-trapped the building" and set off the explosion at "exactly 5 am (0300 GMT)."

Witnesses and residents told AFP the blast was very intense.

"It left residents in the area and patients being treated in a nearby hospital completely shaken up," one said.

Late Thursday, clashes sparked by a prison revolt in Benghazi, cradle of the revolt that toppled Moamer Kadhafi's regime last year, left one person dead and at least four wounded.

The blast came just hours after the arrival of the ruling National Transitional Council, which meets in Benghazi during the final week of every month.

The Mediterranean city has been hit by sporadic acts of violence this year, including an attack on government buildings, the desecration of a World War II cemetery, clashes at political rallies and the failed bombing of a UN convoy.

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