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TRIPOLI – Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said they were responsible for a bomb attack on a police station in the Libyan capital on Thursday, a statement posted on Twitter said.The militants published pictures of the blast at the police station, close to the Foreign Ministry in central Tripoli.

A blast went off in front of a police station in the centre of Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Thursday causing some damage, a witness and media said.

The building is close to the foreign ministry. The explosion also damaged several cars, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

Officials were not immediately available for comment.

Tripoli is under the control of a self-declared government set up after an armed group called Libya Dawn seized the city in August.

The internationally recognised government has been operating out of the east of the oil-producing country which has been in turmoil since an uprising began against former leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was ousted in 2011.

Several foreign missions have been attacked with bombs in Tripoli in recent months.

Militants loyal to Islamic State have claimed some attacks though Tripoli officials have blamed Gaddafi loyalists.

Most Western and Arab countries have evacuated their Tripoli embassies after heavy fighting between rival factions. –  Reuters