[WATCH] At least 27 dead in Benghazi double car bombs

#Benghazi #Libia : bilancio aggiornato della strage causata da 2 autobombe sale ad almeno 41 morti e 80 feriti.Nel video gli effetti della prima esplosione pic.twitter.com/WdaJkIIvfI

— Atlantide (@Atlantide4world) January 24, 2018

At least 27 people have been killed and 50 wounded in a double car bombing near a mosque in the Libyan city Benghazi.

The first explosion struck outside the mosque, in the central Al Salmani district, at about 8.20pm as worshippers were leaving evening prayers.

Around 10 to 15 minutes later, after security and health officials arrived on the scene, a second more explosive blast was detonated from a Mercedes parked on the opposite side of the road.

The second blast also hit an ambulance and caused a higher number of casualties than the first.

Both military personnel and civilians are among the victims. The number of fatalities may rise, a spokeswoman for the local al-Jala hospital told AFP news agency.

One of the men killed was Ahmed al-Feitouri of the investigation and arrest unit attached to the general command of east Libyan security forces.

Another victim includes an Egyptian national who was employed in a vegetable shop in front of the mosque.

An intelligence official, Mahdi al-Fellah, was wounded.

It is not yet clear who was behind the bloodshed. The BBC's North Africa Correspondent Rana Jawad said many bombings of this kind go unclaimed in Libya.

The United Nations has condemned the attacks, saying that direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes.

Benghazi has been the scene of more than three years of conflict from 2014 up until last year, as forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar battled Islamists and other opponents.

Islamic fighters had established foothold amid the disorder but have been mostly driver out of the main cities.

There have however been occasional bomb attacks in Benghazi in recent months, often outside mosques.

The fighting in Benghazi was part of a broader conflict that developed in Libya after former ruler Muammar Gaddafi was removed from power and killed in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011.