Car bombing kills four in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi

A car bomb attack near a hospital in Libya's second city of Benghazi has claimed the lives of at least four people and wounded more than a dozen others, medical and security sources say.

The attack took place in front of the coastal city's al-Jalaa hospital on Monday. Medical sources said at least 13 people were also injured in the fatal incident.

The death toll could rise as some of the injured are said to be in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, Mohamed al-Jali, an officer in Libya's special forces, said it was not immediately clear if the attack was carried out by a bomber.

Some reports indicate that the explosion was caused by a bomb that had been planted in the car.

Benghazi has been the scene of daily clashes for the past two years between armed forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar and militants holding onto pockets of the city. 

Haftar and a faction of loyalist army personnel have taken it upon themselves to fight extremist militants in Benghazi. 

The renegade general used to be an ally of Libya’s long-time dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. He, however, joined the Libyan revolution against Gaddafi in 2011.

SS