Libya refinery fire rages after drone strike as Benghazi car bomb kills general

A drone strike sparked a massive fire at Libya's Zawiya refinery, while a car bomb in Benghazi killed a senior officer. The twin attacks exposed the country's deepening instability and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.Image used for representational purposes onlyFirefighters in western Libya were on Tuesday battling the remains of a huge fire triggered by a drone strike on an oil facility, while a car bomb in the country's east killed a senior military officer. The attacks were the latest in a fresh bout of violence in the North African nation.The drone strike hit a gasoline tank at the Zawiya oil refinery on Monday, and the blaze continued through the night into Tuesday morning. Separately, Major General Fawzy al-Mansouri, the military intelligence chief of commander Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, was killed in Benghazi when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed his car, authorities said.The state-run National Oil Corporation said the drone struck the refinery in the Mediterranean town of Zawiya, about 47 kilometres west of Tripoli. The Civil Defense, a first responders' agency, said the attack set off a massive fire at a gasoline storage tank. Health authorities said there were no reports of casualties.Local media footage showed large flames and fireballs rising from the tank, with black and orange smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters sprayed what appeared to be foam or water to control the fire. As emergency teams worked at the site, another drone struck near a key oil tank but caused no casualties or damage, the company said. The company said the tank that was hit had been holding 4.5 million litres of fuel and later collapsed. It also declared a state of maximum emergency at the facility. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on oil facilities in Zawiya or for the car bomb in Benghazi on Monday.Monday's strikes were the latest in a series of drone attacks on oil infrastructure in Zawiya, which has the country's largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant. The attacks came as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was due to arrive in Libya for a visit to both Tripoli and Benghazi. Over the weekend, the oil company said drone strikes had also hit a fuel tank and a desalination plant linked to the oil facilities in Zawiya, damaging the tank. In Benghazi, the Libyan National Army said al-Mansouri was killed in the Sayyida Aisha neighbourhood after the explosive-laden vehicle struck his car. The LNA is aligned with one of Libya's two rival governments, which controls the eastern and southern parts of the country.The attacks highlighted the continuing instability in Libya, which has remained divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The country is currently run by Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah's government in the west and the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.In sum, Libya saw two major attacks on Monday and Tuesday: a drone strike that set off a major fire at the Zawiya refinery and a car bomb in Benghazi that killed a senior military officer, underlining the fragile security situation in the country.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 11, 2026 15:24 IST