One dead, 149 wounded in mosque attack in Libya's Benghazi

BENGHAZI: Twin bomb blasts struck a mosque in Benghazi in eastern Libya on Friday, killing at least one person and wounding 149 in the latest attack to target worshippers in the city.

The explosions hit the mosque at the start of weekly prayers in Libya's second city, which lies 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of Tripoli, a security source told AFP.

In the wake of the blasts debris was left scattered across the floor of the mosque, with windows blown out and bloodstains smeared on the wall.

The security source said one bomb had been hidden in a coffin in the courtyard of the mosque and another in a shoe cabinet at the entrance.

One person was killed and 149 wounded, according to Moataz Trabelsi, spokesman for the health ministry of the parallel administration based in the east of the North African country.

A previous hospital bulletin spoke of 62 wounded.

The blasts follow twin car bombings outside a mosque in Benghazi after prayers on January 24 that left nearly 40 people dead.

There was no claim of responsibility for that attack, which underscored the ongoing chaos in the Benghazi region which is controlled by the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar, who opposes a UN-backed unity government based in Tripoli, announced Benghazi's "liberation" from militants in July last year after a three-year campaign, but sporadic violence has continued.