Symbolic imageDrones set Zawiya oil tanks ablaze after Haftar intelligence chief killed
Explosive drones hit fuel tanks at Libya's Zawiya oil complex, a day after a car bomb killed the military intelligence chief of Khalifa Haftar's forces. Crews brought the fires under control on Tuesday.
A drone struck a gasoline reservoir at the refinery 40km west of Tripoli on Monday night and the tank burned and collapsed, Hamdi al-Bishti of the Brega Oil Company, which runs the plant, told AFP. The National Oil Corporation said the tank held about 4.5 million litres and declared a state of emergency. No group has claimed responsibility; the NOC counted three strikes on oil assets over Sunday and Monday, amid militia fighting in Zawiya since 4 August. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah called the attacks "an escalation that will not go unpunished".
Car bomb in Benghazi
Brig Fawzi Al Mansouri died when a device detonated in his car outside his home in Benghazi's Hawari area on Monday evening, security sources told Reuters. Haftar appointed him military intelligence chief in May 2024; analysts say it is too early to name a perpetrator.
Turkey tours both capitals
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Dbeibah and his national security adviser in Tripoli on Tuesday, opening a two-day visit due to reach Benghazi on Wednesday under Ankara's "One Libya" policy.
Other opinions
Turkey's Daily Sabah leads on Fidan's mission and calls Zawiya the second-largest refinery; the UAE's The National calls it Libya's largest in operation.