Blasts kill 3 Libyans in Benghazi funeral ceremony

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) - At least three people were killed when three blasts hit a military funeral ceremony in Benghazi, eastern Libya, according to local media.

The Libyan private channel 218 News quoted Ahmad al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar forces, as saying that three explosions occured during the funeral ceremony of Maj. Gen. Khalifa al-Mismari, a military commander loyal to Khalifa Haftar forces.

He said dozens of people were injured and 17 of them were transferred to the nearby hospitals.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011 when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli -- and a host of heavily armed militia groups.