By Maha Ellawati and Ayman Amzein.
Benghazi, 19 June 2013:
A huge explosion totally flattened the police station in the Al-Hadayeq (the gardens) district of Benghazi early this morning, but miraculously there are no casualties being reported.
The sound of the explosion at about 2.30 am today was so loud that it was reportedly heard across most of the districts of Benghazi. It is thought that there were no casualties within the police station because the station had been closed down after an earlier attack in May.
Samir Al-Lamamy, a witness and resident of the Al-Hadayeq district told Libya Herald that “the explosion led to the complete destruction of the police station leveling it to the ground”.
Al-Lamamy also speculated that “there might have been more than one bomb planted in the police station because the explosion was so strong that it totally destroyed it”.
He also confirmed that “there were no human casualties reported so far”, but added that “the explosion had caused much damage to nearby buildings, homes and shops. Glass doors and windows were shattered”, he added.
The Al-Hadayeq Street is considered a main shopping area, full of many retail outlets. Miraculously, a nearby petrol station was not affected by the explosion.
This is not the first time that the police station is attacked, having been previously subjected to an attack on the 15th May.
On that occasion, the death of a local young man led to the police station being burnt down, and as a result the station was vacated and closed down since.
The police station was having renovations made to it after its last attack, ostensibly readying to for re-opening, before this morning’s explosion totally destroyed it.
There are no indications as to who might have been responsible for the explosion, but media reports say that the authorities are attempting to identify the type of explosive that was used. [/restrict]
