Gunmen stormed the Russian Embassy in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, on Wednesday night, scrambling over the walls of the compound, tearing down the Russian flag and opening fire on cars and buildings, Russian and Libyan news agencies reported.
The attack was suspected to be revenge for the killing a day earlier of a Libyan air force pilot by a Russian woman, who the gunmen thought had taken refuge in the diplomatic mission, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
“The Wednesday attack may be linked with the incident on Tuesday,” in which local media reported that a Russian woman — some identified her as Ukrainian — shot and killed Libyan air force officer Mohammed Susi in Tripoli, then attacked the pilot’s elderly mother with a knife, ITAR-TASS reported.
The Russian news agency, citing local security sources and the Libyan news agency LANA, said the woman had not been identified, nor was a motive in the attacks known.
“There has been an incident in Tripoli tonight, in which there was shelling and attempts to enter the territory” of the Russian Embassy, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich was quoted as saying by Russia Today. . .