Libya election officials killed in Tripoli suicide blast claimed by Islamic State

At least 12 people have been reported killed on Wednesday as armed militants including at least one suicide bomber stormed the offices of the Libyan electoral commission in Tripoli in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

The attackers set the building ablaze, according to spokesman Khaled Amar, who fled with other staff following the attack. Reports said the gunmen then engaged security forces in a street battle.

The Islamic State claimed the attack through its Amaq propaganda wing but did not provide any evidence for its claim.

Images and video shared on social media showed pillars of thick smoke rising from the site.

The victims included three employees of the commission and four members of local security forces, said Amar.

“I saw two suicide bombers myself… they were shouting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest),” he said, adding that he had seen bombers’ body parts strewn on the ground.

“A suicide bomber blew up himself inside the commission and the others set a part of the building on fire.”

Security sources told the Libya Observer there were four gunmen.

The attack comes as the UN has put pressure on Libya to hold elections by the end of the year. UN envoys have repeatedly emphsised the need for elections this year.

While the country remains split between rival governments following a disputed vote in 2014, in which turnout was just 630,000 people, experts have speculated over the implications of an election.

“I personally believe that despite what the UN says we will not have elections in Libya before middle of 2019,” a Libyan analyst told the middleeasteye.net.