Gaddafi Loyalists Blamed For Car Bombs

Supporters of the late Colonel Gaddafi have been blamed for three car bombs which killed two people in Libya.

Several others were injured in the blasts near security buildings and the interior ministry in the capital Tripoli - the first deadly attack of its kind since Gaddafi's overthrow last year.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombs, which police said were detonated by mobile phone.

Officials blamed Gaddafi loyalists, saying they were trying to spread fear and stop democracy in the country.                   "I hold former regime aides fully responsible for this cowardly action," said deputy interior minister, Omar al Khadrawi, as he visited the site of one of the blasts.

He said "the same kind of bombs and the same tactics and equipment" were used in previously foiled car bomb attacks in Tripoli.                   The first bomb blew up near the interior ministry's administrative offices, but caused no casualties, security sources said. On arriving at the site, police found another car bomb that had not gone off.

Minutes later, two car bombs exploded near a women's police academy, killing two civilians and wounding three others.

"The (victims) were two young men in their 20s. They drove past the police academy precisely at the time of the explosion," a security source said.

The blasts, which shattered windows of nearby cars and buildings, took place as worshippers went to morning prayers for Eid al Fitr, the Muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

Libya has seen a surge in violence during Ramadan following the peaceful transfer of power to the new government after elections in July.

Gaddafi's overthrow after 42 years of rule left a power vacuum that was quickly filled by local militias and other armed groups that security forces have struggled to control.

The International Committee of the Red Cross suspended its activities in Benghazi, Libya's second biggest city, and Misrata after one of its compounds was attacked with grenades and rockets.

And the fate of seven Iranian relief workers remains unknown almost three weeks after they were kidnapped by gunmen in Benghazi.

Earlier this month, three men suspected of preparing bomb attacks were killed during a police raid near Tripoli, but several of them managed to flee.