A car bomb went off outside a mosque in east Libya on Friday killing a senior tribal leader and wounding others.

Local sources said a black Chevrolet targeted Awaqir tribe leader Braik Al-Lwati shortly after performing Friday prayer in Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Suluq town, 53 kilometers to the south-east of Benghazi.

Five other worshippers were also killed in the explosion, eyewitnesses reported.

Awaqir is the tribe of Defense Minister-designate Al-Mihdi Al-Baraghati. Relations between the tribe and Dignity Operation commander Khalifa Haftar have deteriorated since the recognition of Al-Baraghati of UN-installed Presidency Council. Two Awaqir armed groups - The Special Tasks Force, headed by Faraj Egaim, and Military Intelligence, headed by Salah Bulghaib - were branded as militias by Dignity Operation after Al-Baraghati’s nomination to the position of Defense Minister.

In July 2016, Al-Mihdi Al-Baraghati escaped an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his motorcade in Benghazi.

(Awaqir tribe leader Braik Al-Lwati . Photo: Social Media)

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