Updated | Truck bomb targets police recruits in Libya, at least 60 dead

Witnesses say at least 60 killed at Libyan military training centre, victims ferried to Misurata and Tripoli hospitals in ambulances and cars, many with shrapnel wounds.

Last updated on 7 January 2016, 12:40pm

1 min read

Photo: Twitter

A military training centre in a Libyan city was targeted by a truck bomb, leaving at least 65 dead and several others injured..

No responsibility for the attack has been claimed, which took place on Thursday morning at a police training centre. Zliten mayor Miftah Lahmadi said the truck exploded at the center as hundreds of recruits were gathering there.

The truck reportedly crashed into the gate of the camp in the coastal city of Zliten, around 160 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli.

According to the Libya Observer, Libya's Health Ministry has now declared a state of emergency in Tripoli and Misurata to treat the victims.

PHOTOS: Up to 50 killed in bomb explosion at a police training facility in #Zliten, #Libya. - @NadiaR_LY pic.twitter.com/TfYw9NIc60
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) January 7, 2016

Witnesses said residents were ferrying victims to Misrata hospitals in ambulances and cars, many with shrapnel wounds. Medical sources speaking to Reuters said 65 people had been killed, including some civilians, though one official said between 50 and 60 had died.

The bombing was one of the deadliest since Islamist militants started expanding their presence in the chaos that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.