Explosion near foreign embassies hit Tripoli, Libya

A loud explosion rocked a building housing several foreign embassies in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Tuesday, several witnesses said.

The blast occurred in the parking lot of a residential compound next to Tripoli Towers, where the British and Canadian embassies as well as several foreign airlines and other companies are based.

A rocket-propelled grenade struck a building, while the rocket launcher attached to a vehicle erupted in flames, a military official told The Associated Press. No injuries were immediately reported, though the residential building was damaged in the attack. The military official spoke anonymously in line with regulations.

"I heard an explosion and looked outside and saw a car in flames," he told Reuters.

Eye-witness accounts on social media say the explosion was from an RPG attack on Tripoli Tower or the nearby Corenthia Hotel, where Prime Minister Ali Zidan has an apartment and where international journalists tend to stay. The government is a part owner of the hotel.

The explosion occurred mid-afternoon, when many offices have already emptied during the fasting month of Ramadan. Security officials were not immediately reachable for comment.

There have been a spate of bombings in recent months in Libya. In April the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, while in the volatile eastern city of Benghazi, four Americans - including U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens - were killed on Sept. 11 last year.

Armed violence and lawlessness caused in part by unruly militia groups has hobbled governance in wide areas of the oil-producing North African state following the 2011 war that ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Ehab Zahriyeh contributed to this report. Al Jazeera and wire services