UN chief condemns Libya hotel attack

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon Wednesday condemned "in the strongest terms" the attack on a hotel in Libya, which killed at least eight people Tuesday.

Ban expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, according to a Xinhua report.

The UN chief said: "Terrorism has no place in the new Libya and will not undermine the ongoing political dialogue which the United Nations (UN) is facilitating."

On Tuesday, a group of Islamic State (IS) affiliates attacked Corinthia hotel, one of the last operational hotels in the Libyan capital Tripoli, which once hosted many government offices, foreign embassies, and staff of media and foreign enterprises.

"Tripoli Province", the IS offshoot in Libya, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the hotel contained "non-Muslim diplomatic missions and security companies".

Libya's former prime minister Ali Zeidan was abducted by gunmen from the hotel in 2013 and later released.

Tripoli fell into the hands of the armed Islamist coalition Libya Dawn last August, when the internationally recognised Libyan government retreated to the eastern town of Tobruk.

The city has been plagued by bomb attacks, assassinations and kidnappings.

Several embassies, including those of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been targeted by militants in similar bomb attacks.

Also Tuesday, the new round of the Libyan political dialogue concluded in Geneva, touching on some of the issues that were agreed upon in the first round of dialogue to seek an end to the deepening political and security crisis in the country.