The truck was a fuel tanker and the suicide bomber apparently managed to trick the guards at the camp gates to let him in. It exploded near a large group of coast guards.
The attack has all the hallmarks of Islamic State (IS) although it has not as yet made any claim.
Zliten Security Directorate's Serraj Al-Rashdi told Libya Heralda boat carrying some strangers arrived at the town's shore two days ago. Although security forces started the process of registering all strangers in the town without residency permits on Wednesday they could notpreventthe attack on the police camp.
The port of Zliten is about 160 kilometers to the east of the capital Tripoli.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the blast bore the hallmarks of Islamic State (IS). “It’s a massacre” eyewitnesses said. Misrata Municipality confirmed the arrival of 30 wounded to the city’s central hospital which sent an urgent call to local residents for blood donation. The ministry of health has declared a state of emergency in Tripoli and Misrata hospitals to receive and treat blast victims. Zliten a coastal commercial town between Misrata and Khoms has been a quiet place afterthe revolution with no known presence of extremists although three and a half years ago a major sufi shrine in the town was destroyedby extremists.
More significantly however just over a week ago the head of the counter-crime agency was murderedwhen a bomb blew up under his car. That was thought to be the work of either the IS or Ansar Al-Sharia.
The town which is closely allied to Misrata has been one of the locations for smuggling migrants to the Europe. The camp that has been attacked was being used as a main centre to train and deploy coast guards in operations against the smuggling.
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