By Nigel Ash and Ayman Eljali.
Hay Andalous, Tripoli, 23 April 2013, 11.15 am:
A white vehicle is thought be one of three . . .[restrict]involved in this morning’s bomb attack on the French embassy.
The vehicles were caught on a neighbours’s security cameras arriving outside the embassy at around 7.05 am. According to the neighbour, a shout of “Alahu Akhbar” was heard coming from the direction of the white vehicle.
There are not further details as yet.
It is not known if one or more car bombs were detonated up in the attack.
Meanwhile, a host of government ministers and security official headed to the site to see for themselves what had happened, among them the Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, Deputy Prime Minister Awad Barasi, Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail and Justice Minister Salah Marghani.
Asked if he was aware of any specific threats made against the French embassy, Shawail said that intelligence reports would be part of the enquiry. “We have to wait and see. Invstigations are at an early stage'” he said.
“Security will be tightened,” as a result of the attack, he said.
Neighbours have pointed out that there were no Libyan security guards on duty outside the embassy at the time of the blast. This has drawn criticism. According to one source, the attack occurred during the guards’ shift change.
[/restrict]
