Huge explosion hits area near Libyan Foreign Ministry building

A powerful bomb explosion has struck an area near the Libyan Foreign Ministry building in the eastern city of Benghazi, witnesses say.

Reports say the blast on Wednesday caused severe damage to the Foreign Ministry building and the local headquarters of the central bank.

There have been no reports of casualties so far.

The explosion took place on the first anniversary of a deadly attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Over the past few months, Libya has been hit by a wave of violent attacks targeting military personnel, judges, and doctors.

On September 10, a police colonel was killed in a bomb blast in Benghazi.

Also, two soldiers were killed on September 9, after unknown gunmen attacked a military vehicle near the coastal city of Sirte.

On September 2, an Egyptian official in Tripoli came under attack by armed men. The gunmen stole his car, leaving him injured.

Armed men also killed appeal court judge Mohammed Ibrahim Houidi, the president of the criminal division, in Derna, in June.

In February 2011, Libyans rose up against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule and deposed him in August, 2011. He was slain in his hometown of Sirte on October 20 of the same year.

The country’s popular uprising started in Benghazi.