Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) reported Tuesday that fires at the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, located west of Tripoli, had been brought under control following a drone attack on Monday in which explosives-laden drones caused a tank holding approximately 4.5 million liters of gasoline to collapse.
Drone Attack Hits Libya's Zawiya Oil Complex, Igniting Fuel Storage Tank
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) reported Tuesday that fires at the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, located west of Tripoli, had been brought under control following a drone attack on Monday in which explosives-laden drones caused a tank holding approximately 4.5 million liters of gasoline to collapse.
Owner Brega Petroleum Marketing said the fires were extinguished more quickly than anticipated. Engineers told Reuters that damage was limited, though operations at the facility were interrupted.
Officials from Libya's electricity provider said two additional drones targeted the Zawiya power plant in the early hours of Tuesday, with one striking the fire-fighting system but causing no damage.
Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, whose government is based in Tripoli, wrote in a statement on X that targeting civilian infrastructure would 'not go unanswered,' describing the drone strikes as 'an organized and dangerous act' requiring a firm response.
The actor responsible for Monday's drone attack had not been declared as of the time of reporting.
Separately, the Libyan National Army (LNA), which controls eastern Libya and parts of the south under commander Khalifa Haftar, said its head of military intelligence, Fawzi al-Mansouri, was killed in a car bombing in Benghazi on Monday night. According to the LNA, an explosive device attached to al-Mansouri's vehicle detonated as he left a mosque.
Khalifa Haftar's son Khaled Haftar said an investigation had been opened, and that initial indicators pointed to what he described, according to AFP, as a 'despicable terrorist tactic.' His office later said authorities had arrested a 'terrorist cell' in Benghazi allegedly preparing acts of sabotage, but did not confirm whether the arrest was linked to al-Mansouri's killing.
Al-Mansouri was described as a prominent military figure close to the Haftar family who had played a role in fighting jihadist groups in eastern Libya. Authorities have not identified those responsible for his death.
Libya has remained politically divided since the 2011 uprising that removed former leader Moammar Gadhafi. A standoff in 2024 over control of the Central Bank of Libya reportedly cut the country's oil exports by more than half.
Libya holds Africa's largest proven oil reserves but has not returned to pre-2011 production levels of 1.6 million barrels per day. Production in June reached 1.44 million barrels per day, the highest output since 2013, though short of a stated target of 2 million barrels per day.
- The identity of the actor or group responsible for the drone attack on Zawiya has not been established
- The source does not confirm whether the arrested 'terrorist cell' in Benghazi is connected to al-Mansouri's killing
- The extent of the economic or operational impact of the interrupted refinery operations is not quantified
- No timeline is given for when full operations at the Zawiya facility might resume
- The specific nature or findings of the investigation into al-Mansouri's killing are not provided
- The source does not establish whether the drone attack and the Benghazi car bombing are related
Read the original at Deutsche Welle