15 killed in suicide attack at Libya’s electoral commission

Fifteen people were killed in a suicide attack on Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) yesterday.

A group of militants including two suicide bombers attacked the HNEC headquarters in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Reuters reported that Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Director of the Libyan National Security Department, Mohammed Damja, told Libya Al-Ahrar that the gunmen stormed the building and killed a number of security personnel in gun clashes before one of them blew himself up leaving the HNEC building ablaze.

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Damja added that the militants remained in the HNEC building following the attack as security forces surrounded it.

In the wake of the attack, the presidential council of the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord announced three days of mourning across the country.

The bloodshed comes as the international community pushes for elections it hopes they will calm the ongoing conflict in the country which erupted following the 2011 ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.