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Panic grabs foreigners as crossfire shaking Libya's capital

Xinhua, January 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

A car bomb exploded outside Libya's biggest hotel in the capital Tripoli on Tuesday, where many foreigners resided, according to witnesses.

A local witness said the bomb was detonated in Corinthia Hotel's parking lot, shaking Tripoli's whole central area. Smokes were rising from the site and people rushing out of the building.

Some witnesses said they saw militants exchange fire with security forces on the scene. The number of casualties is not immediately known.

Corinthia, one of the last operational hotels in Tripoli, once hosted many government branches, foreign embassies, and staff of media and foreign enterprises.

Libya's former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was abducted by gunmen from the hotel in 2013 and later released.

Tripoli fell to the hands of the armed Islamist coalition Libya Dawn last August, when the internationally recognized Libyan government retreated to the eastern town of Tobruk. The city has been plagued by bomb attacks, assassinations and kidnappings.

Several embassies, including those of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, have been targeted by militants in similar bomb attacks. Endit