Car bombing near hotel in Libyan city of Benghazi kills 7

BENGHAZI, Libya – A car bombing on a busy street in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi has killed at least seven people, including a girl, and wounded 10.

The blast early on Friday morning took place behind the city's largest hotel, Tibesti, on a commercial street full of people.

Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, is under the control of the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Hifter whose forces and supporters control the east of the country.

Hifter launched his military campaign in Benghazi in May 2014 in response to bombings and assassinations blamed on Islamic militants in the chaos that followed the uprising that ended longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi's rule in 2011.

The country is currently split between governments in the east and west and an array of militias.