An Islamic State affiliate in eastern Libya is claiming responsibility for Thursday’s suicide truck bomb attack targeting a police base in the town of Zliten.
In a statement posted on the Twitter accounts of IS sympathisers several hours after the attack, the group calling itself the IS Barqa Province said the attack was carried out by Abu al-Abbas al-Muhajir, who detonated his explosive-laden truck among the Libyan border police at the base. The attack killed at least 60 policemen and wounded around 200, according to Libyan authorities. The last name, al-Muhajir, implies that the attacker was not Libyan.
Earlier Thursday, the IS-affiliated Aamaq News Agency also claimed the attack was carried out by the extremist group’s Barqa Province affiliate.