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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 22 February 2015:
Two explosions hit the Iranian ambassador’s residence in Tripoli’s Ben Ashour district today, one just . . .[restrict]before midday, the other some 30 minutes later. Although not particularly massive, they were heard all over central Tripoli. No one was injured in either blast although a number of people were gathered at the site when the second device exploded, including some reporters. There was some structural damage, however.
It is not known if the second blast, which was not as powerful as the first, was a controlled explosion.
The residence was closed. Iranian diplomats were one of the first to leave Libya after seven Iranian Red Crescent officials were kidnapped and held for two months by militant Islamists in Benghazi two and a half years ago.
Relations with Iran have been poor for the past three years, mainly because of allegations by the Grand Mufti Sadek Al-Ghariani in June 2012 that Iranian were proselytising in Libya and that some Libyans had converted to Shiite Islam. No evidence was ever given and the claims were widely seen as unfounded. However, some militants continued to believe them. [/restrict]
