Two car bombs explode in Tripoli, no casualties - local media

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two car bombs exploded near Tripoli's foreign ministry and a naval base used by Libya's U.N.-backed government on Thursday, but no casualties were reported, local media said. The reports could not be immediately verified. Images posted online from the bombing near the foreign ministry showed charred vehicle wreckage scattered in the middle of a street close to Tripoli's coastal highway. Tripoli is home to numerous armed factions that have clashed openly in the past, though the situation in recent months has been relatively calm. Some armed groups have helped provide security to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). Its leaders arrived in Tripoli in March, travelling to the naval base by ship after opponents shut down the air space to prevent them flying in. Since then, the GNA has gradually taken control of government buildings in Tripoli, including the foreign ministry, which is close to the naval base. The GNA is designed to replace two rival sets of institutions in Tripoli and eastern Libya, which split after a battle for control of the capital in 2014. But the new government has struggled to impose its authority and has failed to win endorsement from power-brokers in the east. It has also been widely criticised for failing to deal with day-to-day problems in Tripoli and beyond, including a liquidity crisis and lengthy power cuts. Militants loyal to Islamic State are thought to operate sleeper cells in Tripoli and carried out attacks there last year. Libyan forces are now close to ousting Islamic State from its former North African stronghold in Sirte, about 400 km (250 miles) south-east of Tripoli. (Writing by Aidan Lewis, editing by Gareth Jones)