By Tom Westcott and Mohammed Najah.
Tripoli, 16 July 2013:
Four vehicles associated with Tripoli’s Military Police were targeted with car bombs in . . .[restrict]a coordinated attack this morning.
Homemade explosive devices, believed to be gelatinas, were placed above the near-side rear wheel of each of the vehicles. It is thought that the bombs were then detonated remotely, in coordinated explosions that took place at around 8.15 this morning.
There were no casualties, but nearby cars were also damaged by the blasts.
One of the targets was a Military Police vehicle and the other three were civilian cars owned by Military Police employees living in the area. All four vehicles were parked in different places in the upmarket Hay Al Zohour district on the Airport Road, opposite the Interior Ministry.
The new official government spokesman, Abdussalam Sabri Sharief, speaking at his first official press conference, said the act was an attempt to undermine the security of Libya and its citizens. The government, he said: “Strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act against the law, ethics and principles of our Islamic religion.”
People should show a spirit of responsibility and restraint, allowing the competent authorities to do their duty according to the law, Sharief said, “especially now we are in the month of mercy and forgiveness.”
