TRIPOLI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Foreign Minister Mohamed Sayala on Tuesday stressed the need to partially lift the international arms embargo on Libya in order to enhance the country's security.
Sayala made his remarks during a joint press conference with the Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha in the capital Tripoli, hours after a deadly attack on the Foreign Ministry's headquarters that killed and injured several people.
"We are determined to press and continue to demand to partially lift the arms embargo. We will not be able to implement the security arrangements without lifting the arms embargo," he said. "The international community must respond if it is willing to resist terrorism."
Sayala said that all the important documents of the ministry have not been damaged, confirming that the ministry will resume working on Wednesday at a temporary headquarters.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the symbol and gateway of the sovereignty of the state, and the targeting was expected," Sayala said.
Bashagha said that investigations were still underway and evidence is being gathered, confirming that the three attackers would be identified through DNA tests.
Bashagha said that no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
At least three people were killed and 10 others, including a paramedic, injured on Tuesday during a terrorist attack on the Libyan Foreign Ministry's headquarters in the capital Tripoli, the Health Ministry said.
The attack occurred in the morning when a car bomb exploded right behind the ministry's building, an official of the Foreign Ministry told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Afterward, a group of gunmen entered the building from the front and back entrances and exchanged heavy fire with the security forces, he added.
In September, Islamic State militants attacked the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation in the center of Tripoli, killing two and injuring several others.
