Two staff and two gunmen killed in Libyan state oil firm attack

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00:36

Two staff of Libya's state oil firm and two gunmen were killed in an attack on the National Oil Corporation's (NOC) headquarters in Tripoli on Monday, Reuters reported citing a security official.

"The death toll so far is two killed from NOC staff and two attackers," said Ahmad Ben Salim, spokesman for the Special Deterrence Force, a militia that operates as Tripoli's police force, which had surrounded the NOC building.

"The situation is under control," he added.

Several armed men attacked the NOC headquarters in the Libyan capital on Monday and blasts were heard before wounded people were ferried away from the building in ambulances.

Ambulances and security vehicles are seen near the headquarters of Libyan state oil firm National Oil Corporation (NOC) after three masked persons attacked it in Tripoli, Libya, September 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Six people stormed the building early in the morning and used machine guns and grenades and detained a number of hostages," said Interior Minister Abdassalam Ashour.

Witnesses said the building near the city center had caught fire and was rapidly surrounded by security services, who evacuated its staff, including the NOC chairman Mustafa Sanallah.

The attack targeted the country's vital oil sector, repeatedly disrupted by violence since a 2011 uprising that toppled late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the attack was likely carried out by ISIL affiliates, given the nature of such attacks that were carried out by the extremist group previously in the city.

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