IS militants claim responsibility for Libya embassy bombings, rocket attack

Militants claiming loyalty to the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for a twin bombing at the gate of the Iranian embassy in the Tripoli.

The attack on the embassy came two days after the group claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed more than 40 people in the eastern Libyan town of Qubbah, in an attack retaliating for Egytian air strikes on Islamic targets.

Libyan security officials said the Sunday attack on the Iranian embassy was caused by two explosive devices. Iran’s official IRNA news agency confirmed the blasts and said that there had no been casualties, adding that the Iranian ambassador was not in the residence as the embassy’s operations had already been suspended.

"Two devices were laid, one exploded first and then the other. The point of the second bomb was to create confusion," Colonel Jumaa al-Mashri from the National Security Agency told Tripoli-based al-Nabaa television.          

But despite no casualties being reported, analysts have said the attack carries a “symbolic message” to show that the “IS-affiliated groups are gaining ground in Libya.”

The militants also claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Labraq airport on Saturday. No casualties were reported. The airport is the main gateway into eastern Libya and Bayda, the seat of internationally recognised prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni.