Libyan PM condemns detonation of car bomb in Sebha as 'cowardly terrorist act'
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba on Sunday condemned the detonation of a car bomb that killed two police officers at a security checkpoint at the entrance to Sebha, 800 km south of Tripoli, calling it a "cowardly terrorist act".
In a tweet Mr. al-Dbaiba offered his condolences to the families of the two officers, Captain Ibrahim Abdennabi Al-Manaa, head of the Criminal Investigation Department in Sebha, and Lieutenant Abbas Aboubaker, and also wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
"Our war against terrorism continues and we will hit hard all its hideouts, wherever they are," he wrote in his tweet.
The Interior Ministry in its condemnation of the terrorist act said that the driver of a mini-truck carrying scrap metal detonated the vehicle when he reached the targeted security post.
In addition to the two officers killed, the attack left five people injured and caused extensive material damage, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry, which announced the opening of an investigation, promising to crack down on the perpetrators.
The minister warned that he would "strike with an iron fist" at anyone who would jeopardise the security of the country and its citizens.
Sleeping cells of terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (Daech), are still active, especially in southern Libya, despite the defeat of the terrorist organisation in 2016.
Islamic State was driven out of its stronghold of Sirte where it had established an Emirate, taking advantage of the security chaos and the absence of security bodies and the army in Libya.
Strikes carried out by the United States in the summer of 2019 eliminated 46 elements of Daech in southern Libya, a vast desert area where all kinds of trafficking take place.
This terrorist attack comes at a time when the political process in Libya under the auspices of the United Nations has led to the adoption of a roadmap by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, establishing a transitional phase leading to general elections to be overseen by an interim Unified Executive Authority, the Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity.
The unification of the army and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including the opening of the coastal road between Sirte and Misrata and the departure of foreign fighters and mercenaries, are the outstanding issues to ensure full normalisation in the country after a decade of conflict.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 7June2021
