Several dead in suicide attack on Libyan Foreign Ministry

Three suicide bombers attackedLibya's Foreign Ministry in Tripoli on Tuesday, killing at leasttwo other people as well as themselves, authorities said.

The attackers began their assault with a car bomb,damaging vehicles and buildings, and then opened fire on the ministry, a security source said. Two managed to get inside andblow themselves up. The other was killed by ministry guards.

Heavy smoke rose from the building, which was surrounded bysecurity forces, as people were rushed to hospital. The Health Ministry said that apart from the attackers, three people hadbeen killed and at least 21 injured.

Interior Minister Fathi Ali Bashagha said, however, that other than the attackers,only two people were killed, adding that investigations were continuing into identifyingtheassailants.

"Security chaos in Libya offers propitious conditions for IS [ISIS]and other terrorist groups," Bashagha said at a joint news conference in Tripoli with Foreign Minister MohamedTaher Siala.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syriahas been active in Libya in the turmoil since theoverthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The group took control of the coastal city of Sirte in 2015, but lost it late in 2016 tolocal forces backed by U.S. airstrikes.

UN arms embargo lifting urged

Siala called for a partial lifting of the UN arms embargo onLibya to help authorities counter militant groups.

He said the Foreign Ministry had been targeted because "itis a symbol of sovereignty."

"All important documents have been saved," he said.

He also said he deplored the death of one ministry employee in the attack.

The Foreign Ministry earlier issued a statement saying: "TheLibyan people are waging a war on terrorism on behalf of the world."

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned theattack, stressing the need to "prevent terrorist groups from turning Libya into a haven or an arena for their crimes."

Siala said security arrangements agreed between Libya'sGovernment of National Accord and the UN after a month of
clashes in the south of Tripoli are yet to be implemented.