Libya's new defence minister survives assassination attempt

Libya's new defence minister survived an assassination attempt by a car bomb on Wednesday, which injured one of his guards, an official statement by the ministry said.

The minister came under attack while leaving an army barrack in the eastern city of Benghazi, when a car bomb was detonated, the statement said on Thursday.

Mahdi al-Barghathi was appointed defence minister in February after a UN-backed power-sharing agreement took off in December, giving the Government of National Accord [GNA] control over several ministries.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

The GNA faced a set of military, economic and political challenges in Libya, which has been caught in a cycle of violence since the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi in 2011.

GNA-allied forces have been fighting the Islamic State group in its stronghold of Sirte for the past seven weeks.

In March, just over half of the parliament's members signed a statement of support for the GNA but a formal vote of confidence has been repeatedly delayed.

The GNA is yet to receive a vote of confidence from the country's elected parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk that would give it authority over the whole country.

A key point of contention is over the army leadership and the future of General Khalifa Haftar, the head of armed forces based in the east, unpopular in western Libya but a hero for some in eastern Libya.

Agencies contributed to this report.