Dozens killed in bombing outside Libya military training centre

Attack: The suicide bomber attacked a military training centre in Zliten
Jad Assary/Flickr Creative Commons

More than 60 people were killed today when a suicide bomber attacked a military training centre in Libya.

Witnesses said a truck carrying a bomb crashed into the gate of the academy in the coastal city of Zliten, around 100 miles east of the capital Tripoli.

Initial reports stated at least 40 people died in the blast but the death toll has since risen to 65, according to hospital sources.

Local mayor Miftah Lahmadi said the truck exploded as hundreds of recruits were gathering at the centre.

Martin Kobler, the UN's special representative to Libya, said it was a suicide attack.

Libya's al-Naba television network quoted a state of emergency had been declared by the ministry of health to allow hospitals in Tripoli and Misrata to treat the injured.

Libya has been sliding deeper into conflict since an 2011 uprising, with rival governments and Islamic State militants battling for control of its main cities and oil wealth.

In December, Libyan politicians signed a UN peace deal to form a unity government but it has yet to be implemented.

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