French embassy in Libya target of apparent car bomb attack

France's embassy in Libya was hit by what appeared to be a car bomb, injuring two guards in the first such attack in the Libyan capital since the 2011 war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

"There was an attack on the embassy. We think it was a booby trapped car," a French official told Reuters. "There was a lot of damage and there are two guards wounded."

The embassy is located at a 5-minute walk from the Maltese embassy in Tripoli.

In Paris, foreign minister Laurent Fabius condemned what he called a heinous attack and said everything would be done to find the perpetrators.

"I send my solidarity and deepest sympathy to the two injured French guards and my wishes for their recovery," he said in a statement.

A resident told Al Jazeera that the bomb went off at around 7am.

"This is a big concern as a Libyan. You hear about things happening in different cities and now it is close to home," he told Al Jazeera. "It is a big concern for the security of Libya, it will delay many things."

Diplomatic missions have been targeted in Libya, most notably an attack on the US mission in the eastern city of Benghazi last September that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans.

However Tuesday's attack is the first such serious assault on an embassy or foreign mission in the capital, Tripoli.

Al Jazeera also reports that Libya's new rulers are still struggling to impose their authority on a country awash with weapons and a myriad of armed militias who often do as they please.