- The funeral at Benghazi's Huwari cemetery was for Khalifa Mismari, the assistant commander of Libya's special forces under former leader Muammar Gaddafi
- The special forces have become a key unit aligned with Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who controls eastern Libya
BENGHAZI: At least four people were killed and 33 wounded when a car bomb hit a funeral of a former senior military commander in the east Libyan city of Benghazi, a spokesman for the eastern administration’s interior ministry said.
The funeral at Benghazi's Huwari cemetery was for Khalifa Mismari, the assistant commander of Libya's special forces under former leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled in 2011, a military source said.
A witness saw two burned out cars at the scene of the blast.
According to the military source, the current head of the special forces, Wanis Bukhamada, was attending the funeral but was unharmed.
Libyan National Army's spokesman General Ahmad Al-Mesmari accused the Prime Minister of Libya's Tripoli-based government Fayez Al-Sarraj of funding terrorism in Benghazi and said that he has become the political face of terrorist groups.
At a press conference that took place on Thursday, Al-Mesmari said the Libyan National Army does not differentiate between extremist organizations in Tripoli, Al-Qaeda, and Daesh, and that all Libyans should support the LNA's armed forces in every way.
Since 2014, Libya has been divided between rival political and military factions based in Tripoli and the eastern part of the country.
The special forces have become a key unit aligned with Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who controls eastern Libya.
Since early April, Haftar has been waging an offensive to try to take the capital Tripoli, in the west of the country, though his campaign has stalled.