A bomb went off outside the US embassy offices in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Tuesday night, causing minor¹ damage to its main gate.

一颗炸弹在位于利比亚东部城市班加西的美国大使馆办公室附近爆炸，使其大门遭到轻微破坏。

A US embassy official in Tripoli told BBC that no one was injured in the attack, by unknown assailants（攻击者） .

The US official deplored² the attack and asked the Libyan government to increase security around US facilities.

Libya has witnessed a spate³（洪水，一阵） of attacks on important local and foreign landmarks⁴ in the country this year.

Earlier this week, the runway at the international airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli was temporarily seized by an armed militia⁵ from the western town of Tarhouna, grounding all flights.

Last month, the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Benghazi was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

General elections

The latest attack comes days before the first general elections in the country.

Libya is preparing for elections expected to take place on 19 June. Libyans will be voting for 200 members of an assembly that will form a panel to write a new constitution and form a new government.

It is still not clear who is behind these attacks, including the latest in Benghazi.