Gunmen kill two in deadly daylight assault on Libya’s state oil company
No one has yet claimed responsibility for gun and bomb attack on landmark Tripoli building
Masked gunmen stormed the headquarters of Libya’s state oil company in Tripoli yesterday, killing two members of staff before security forces repelled the attack.
At least 10 people were wounded in the assault on the National Oil Corporation’s offices, which was a first for the company.
Security forces moved the company’s chairman, Mustafa Sanallah, and other staff to safety from the landmark building in the centre of the Libyan capital.
“The building was heavily damaged due to the fire. Smoke is everywhere,” Mr Sanallah said.
“The gunmen attacked the lower floors with random shooting and explosions. It was a very violent attack.”
One of the attackers was killed by the security forces and the rest blew themselves up. “Three or five gunmen were shooting inside the building,” a company employee told Reuters after he fled through an open window. “Several people were shot.”
The building is covered in glass and several people were injured by shattered windows, which one witness said were broken by security forces to allow people to escape.
Firefighters used a crane to rescue a group of employees trapped on the roof, The Libya
Observer reported. Surrounding roads were cordoned off as ambulances took casualties from the building before the security forces attacked back.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Tripoli security chief Salah Al Semoui blamed ISIS.
The UN Support Mission in Libya denounced yesterday’s “cowardly terrorist attack”, calling it a “blow against Libyans everywhere”.
The mission urged Libyans “to desist from futile side conflicts and come together, in partnership with the international community, to eradicate the scourge of terrorism across the country”.
Monday’s incident came less than a week after a fragile truce halted clashes between armed groups in Tripoli.
At least 63 people were killed in the violence between August 27 and September 4.
Libya has been split between rival governments and military factions based in the east and west of the country since 2014, causing political deadlock and an economic crisis.
But the oil company continued to function in relative normalcy across Libya, which relies on oil for most of its income.
Despite production being hit by blockades and attacks on oil facilities, last year output partially recovered to about one million barrels per day.
Last week, the company announced plans to boost oil revenue by 80 per cent to $23 billion (Dh84.48bn), compared with $13bn last year.
Despite disruptions this year, its revenue from the start of the year to the end of July reached $13.6bn.
Tripoli was shaken by clashes between armed groups at the beginning of this month but the capital has also had occasional militant attacks.
In May, ISIS claimed a deadly assault on the national election commission’s offices in which 14 people were killed.
The group had also claimed an attack in January 2015 on the Corinthia Hotel, another Tripoli landmark, in which five Libyans and five foreigners were killed.