Blast hits VIP hotel in Libya's rebel base Benghazi

Xinhua, June 2, 2011

A blast hit a VIP hotel in downtown of the Libyan opposition bastion Benghazi Wednesday afternoon. No casualties have been reported, a Xinhua reporter said.

Some explosives loaded in a car were detonated at a temporary parking lot of the Tibesti Hotel at about 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), damaging the car and several others. Neither injury nor death was caused because the TNT was at a minor level and the explosives were ignited when no one was in the vehicles, an official with the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said.

It has been the first explosion in Benghazi of late. The incident came one day after Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and senior NTC officials attended a press conference in the hotel.

No one has claimed responsibility for the incident.

The security forces have cordoned off the site immediately after the blast and were investigating the case. Large crowds of people gathered around the hotel despite police warnings of danger. Gun shots were heard in the city.

Local residents often fire guns in celebrations or express anger or warning.

"The damage was little, but the suspect was sending a strong threatening message to us," a witness said.

Opposition spokesman Jalal al-Gallal told Xinhua it was a big lesson for the security work in the hotel and Benghazi.

The hotel, located in downtown of Benghazi, is used for important news conference of the NTC which is fighting against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The newly opened European Union office is also set in the hotel.

An explosion occurred in May near the seafront Tahrir Square where daily anti-Gaddafi rallies are held. The opposition official later said it was an accident, not a car bomb as initially stated.