By Libya Herald reporters.
Benghazi 8 January 2016:
Two great palls of smoke from the fires caused by terrorist attacks on Libya’s largest . . .[restrict]export terminal at Sidra and the neighbouring Ras Lanuf terminal are now visible from space drifting eastwards over Cyrenaica.
NOC in Tripoli yesterday confirmed that five storage tanks in the Sidra tank farm are alight while two more are in flames at Ras Lanuf. Since the IS attacks on Tuesday, firefighters have been grappling with both blazes while using diggers to cover nearby pipes and pumps with protective layers of earth.
Tuesday’s double IS assault, which opened with a suicide bombing just outside the Sidra terminal has wrecked the 18-tank Sidra farm, leaving it with only one tank still apparently untouched.
However, the greater damage to the facility was done early in 2015 when it was attacked by Misratan Libya Dawn forces as part of “Operation Sunrise”. That unsuccessful assault, which was repelled by the Petroleum Facilities Guard and the Libyan Air Force left ten tanks as burnt-out ruins. [/restrict]
