Libya extinguished fires at several fuel storage tanks in the Zawiya oil complex Tuesday, with emergency crews bringing the blazes under control ahead of schedule after explosive-laden drones targeted the facility, the National Oil Corporation said.
On Monday night, a large gasoline reservoir in Zawiya caught fire and collapsed after it was "struck by a drone while another drone fell near a second tank without causing casualties", Hamdi al-Bishti, head of the Brega Oil Company which runs the refinery, told AFP.
Bishti said it was difficult to fully contain the fire given the tank was filled with gasoline.
In a statement, the Tripoli-based government condemned the strikes as "an escalation that will not go unpunished", vowing to "hunt down those responsible".
"This is a direct threat to the lives of citizens and workers, as well as to vital infrastructure that forms an essential part of the country's security, economy and resources," Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said.
