Benghazi – Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s chief of staff onWednesday survived a car bombing in the eastern city of Benghazi, accordingto his self-styled Libyan National Army.

General Abdelrazak al-Nadhuri “escaped unharmed from a terroristassassination attempt after a car bomb exploded… as his convoy passed,”the LNA said in a statement.

The explosion took place in the Sidi Khalifa district at the easternentrance to Benghazi, the statement said.

One civilian was killed in the attack and another was wounded, a spokesmanfor Benghazi’s al-Jala hospital told AFP.

Nadhuri’s spokesman Malek al-Sharif told AFP that the chief of staff, hisbodyguards and those travelling with him were unharmed.

Nadhuri later accused “terrorist cells” of being behind the attemptedassassination.

“This cowardly terrorist act comes after the defeat of these terroristgroups in Benghazi,” he told the Al-Hadath news outlet.

A security official in Benghazi, Majdi al-Orfi, told AFP that the twovictims, a Syrian and a Sudanese national, were caught in the explosion.The Syrian died.

The attack comes amid a wave of rumours about the health of Haftar, whosupports an administration based in the far east of Libya. He was inhospital in Paris last week after falling ill during a trip abroad.

The strongman has not many any public appearances in the past two weeks andsocial media has been abuzz with rumours.

After several denials, the LNA acknowledged Friday that Haftar had beenhospitalised but was “in good health”.

Libya has been gripped by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled andkilled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrationsand multiple militias vying for control of the oil-rich country.

Last summer, Hafter announced the “total liberation” of Benghazi, after athree-year campaign to seize the city from jihadists who had made it astronghold following the revolution.

Haftar supports a parliament based in the east of the country, while aUN-backed unity government in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assertits authority nationwide.

Jihadists with the Islamic State group remain active in central andsouthern Libya despite being forced out of their northern stronghold Sirtein 2016. – APP/AFP