Huge blaze after attack on petrol tank in Libya. Photo: Snapshot From BBC
The drone hit a gasoline tank at the Zawiya oil refinery in the Mediterranean town of Zawiya on Monday, about 47 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of capital Tripoli, the state-run National Oil Corporation said.
The attack ignited a massive blaze at gasoline-storage tank that burned through the night into Tuesday morning, according to the Civil Defense, a first responders’ agency.
There were no reports of casualties, the health authorities said.
No group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on oil facilities in Zawiya, or the car car bomb in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday.
Footage aired by local media showed massive flames and fireballs erupting from the tank, with black and orange smoke rising in the sky as firefighters spray what appears to be foam or water in efforts to quench the intense fire.
As they fought the flames, another drone hit close to a key oil tank nearby but did not cause casualties or damage, the company said.
The company said the tank, which held 4.5 million liters of fuel when it was hit, collapsed, and declared a state of maximum emergency at the facility.
Monday’s strikes were the latest in a series of drone attacks on oil infrastructure in Zawiya, which houses critical energy infrastructure including the country’s largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant. The drone strikes come as Turkish Foreign minister Hakan Fidan is set to arrive in Libya for a visit. He is due to visit both Tripoli and Bengahzi.
Over the weekend, the oil company said drone strikes had hit a fuel tank and a desalination plant linked to the oil facilities in Zawiya. It said the tank was damaged.
Separately, a senior military officer with the forces of commander Khalifa Hifter was killed in a car bomb Monday evening in the eastern city of Benghazi, authorities said.
Maj. Gen. Fawzy al-Mansouri, director of the military intelligence of the Libyan National Army, was killed when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded into his car in the Sayyida Aisha neighborhood in Benghazi after, the LNA said.
The LNA is allied with one of Libya’s two rival governments, which controls the country’s eastern and southern parts.
The attacks underscored the fragility of security in the oil-rich country. Libya has been plunged into chaos and division following the 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, which toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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