Car bombs kill 40, wound 70 in eastern Libyan city: officials

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Three car bombs ripped through the eastern Libyan city of Qubbah on Friday, killing 40 people and wounding 70, security officials and medics said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but parliamentary speaker Aguila Saleh said the bombs appeared to have been in retaliation for Egyptian air strikes on nearby Derna, an Islamist militant hotspot.

On Monday, Egypt launched air strikes on suspected Islamic State targets in Derna, a day after the group released a video showing the execution of Egyptian Coptic Christian workers.

Three bombs exploded on Friday at a petrol station, the local security headquarters and the town council headquarters in Qubbah, which is Saleh's hometown.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/20/us-libya-security-idUSKBN0LO0SS20150220

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BENGHAZI, Libya Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:03am EST

[asiliveandbreathe]

1. This is all I have to say about this article

IS executes Egyptian Coptic Christian workers -( "gotta' get that Christian in there &quot - Egypt retaliates, and IS retaliates back..okay - hey Mr. Saleh - mass YOUR own troops - seems IS somehow got into your own backyard! HUMMMM

Just a thought...

[bemildred]

2. At least 30 killed in car bombs in eastern Libya

TRIPOLI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed and 30 others injured on Friday when three car bombs exploded simultaneously in the eastern Libyan city of Al-Gubba, according to security sources and witnesses.

The simultaneous blasts targeted a local security building, a gas station, and residence of Akila Saleh Issa, a parliament leader, killing at least 30 people, a security official said.

The parliament speaker has been confirmed to have survived the blast as he was not at his residence when the bombs went off.

According to medical sources, a majority of the victims, most civilians, were killed or wounded at the fuel station. The sources added that they came to the station for refueling as the city is in the middle of a fuel shortage.

http://news.yahoo.com/warnings-blizzards-sweep-across-middle-east-110300793.html

[bemildred]

3. Suicide attack targets Somali officials in hotel, kills 10 people

(Reuters) - Islamist rebels detonated a car bomb at the entrance of a hotel in the Somali capital on Friday and then stormed inside where politicians had gathered, killing at least 10 people including a lawmaker and lightly wounding two ministers.

Al Shabaab, which claimed responsibility for the attack, aims to topple the Western-backed federal government and impose its strict version of Islamic sharia law on the Horn of Africa nation that is struggling to rebuild after two decades of war.

The suicide attack targeted the Central Hotel around midday on Friday, typically a busy time for hotels as it is the Somali weekend. Ambulances wailed as they raced to the scene where a huge plume of smoke rose above the Indian Ocean coastal city.

"We are behind the attack," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, told Reuters. "We targeted government officials in the hotel; this is part of our operation in Mogadishu."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/20/us-somalia-security-idUSKBN0LO0RW20150220

[bemildred]

4. Car bomb rocks southern Thailand

NARATHIWAT: A car bomb rocked the business zone of the Muang district here on Friday, setting fire to more than 20 houses and injuring 13 people, according to The Nation.

It reported that bombs were also planted at two other locations but the bomb squad was able to defuse one and destroy another.

Police and soldiers were alerted at about 1pm over the explosion in front of Toto Karaoke on Na Nakorn road.

The blast caused a huge fire that engulfed some 20 houses nearby.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Regional/2015/02/20/Thailand-car-bomb/

[Eugene]

5. Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility for Libya Bombings

Source: Associated Press

Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility for Libya Bombings

TRIPOLI, Libya — Feb 20, 2015, 11:05 AM ET
By ESAM MOHAMED Associated Press

The Islamic State group's offshoot in Libya has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly suicide bombings Friday that killed at least 45 and rocked an eastern town under the control of the country's elected government.

The group said the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Muslims in the Islamic militant stronghold of Darna. Egyptian warplanes conducted multiple airstrikes in Darna after militants linked to the Islamic State group beheaded 21 Egyptian Christian hostages.

The attack also targeted the forces of army Gen. Khalifa Hifter — who has been leading an offensive against Islamic militias on behalf of the internationally recognized government.

The group's statement said two of the "Caliphate's knights" carried out suicide bombings targeting what they described as one of Gen. Hifter's operations rooms.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spokesman-car-bomb-eastern-libya-kills-30-29097457