1 killed, 55 wounded as explosion hits mosque in Libya's Benghazi

An explosion hit the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in the Libyan city of Benghazi Friday afternoon, killing one worshipper and injuring 55 others, military and medical sources told Xinhua.

People inspect the damage inside a mosque following a twin bombing in Benghazi, Libya February 9, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

"Explosive bags exploded inside the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in Majuri as worshippers were performing Friday prayers," Col. Milud Zwai, spokesman for the eastern-based army's special forces, told Xinhua.

"According to preliminary investigations, the bombing was carried out remotely," Zwai added.

Fadia Al-Barghathi, the information officer of Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi, confirmed that the hospital received one dead body and 55 people with varying degrees of wounds. 

Benghazi, which has been controlled by the army after terrorist groups were eliminated from the city in late 2017, is witnessing an escalation of bombings particularly on mosques.

Twin car bomb attacks hit a mosque in Benghazi's Salmani district two weeks ago when worshippers were leaving the mosque after the night prayer, killing 34 people and injuring more than 100 others, mostly civilians.

Libya has been plagued by insecurity and chaos since the uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.