Libya car bomb hits Benghazi hospital, killing many
A vehicle and buildings burn after they were set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on Sept. 11, 2012.
A car bomb has exploded near the Libyan city of Benghazi, killing several people.
Reports vary on the number of people killed in the blast, but at least three are dead.
A doctor told Reuters that only of those killed was carried to the hospital intact, making it difficult to establish the final number of dead. Another doctor said one of the three confirmed dead was a child and that 17 were injured.
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"I saw people running and some of them were collecting parts of bodies," said one witness.
Defense ministry official in Benghazi Saleh al-Bargathi said the explosives were placed in a grey Toyota car.
Libyan Deputy Interior Minister Abdullah Massoud said that the bomb had "totally destroyed a restaurant and seriously damaged nearby buildings."
Hundreds of angry people gathered at the scene of the explosion, blaming armed groups for the blast and calling for them to be removed from Benghazi.
"This could be a criminal, but also there are speculations that this could be the work of the Gaddafi loyalists who Benghazi has seen frequent attacks and assassinations targeting security officials in recent months who have been active recently, and causing mayhem," Tripoli-based Libya analyst Faraj Najem told Al Jazeera.
The UK said it had withdrawn some of its embassy staff in Libya earlier this month in response to what London described as "ongoing political uncertainty."