Bomb explodes outside US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya

Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya

Attackers set off a bomb next to a wall of the U.S. Consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Wednesday, the State Department said, causing no casualties.

The blast underlined the unstable security situation in Libya, more than seven months after the death of deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

It came two weeks before the country is scheduled to have its first post-Gadhafi national elections.

The State Department said that there were no injuries. It said the bomb “exploded at a perimeter wall.”

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. has asked Libya to step up security around American installations.