Gunmen attack Libyan oil corporation headquarters

Tripoli : The headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) in the capital was attacked by gunmen on Monday, causing casualties, officials said.

"A number of gunmen attacked the headquarters of the NOC in Dahra area in central Tripoli. They stormed with light weapons and exchanged fire with some security men," an official told Xinhua news agency.

According to the official, there were a number of casualties among the staff. Several explosions also took place.

Interior Minister Abdassalam Ashour said the NOC headquarters were attacked by "six people, who stormed the building early in the morning and used machine guns and grenades and detained a number of hostages".

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the attack was likely carried out by Islamic State affiliates, given the nature of such attacks that were carried out by the extremist group previously in the city, the report said.