The explosion at the Libyan Interior Ministry training camp occurred at 8:00am local time. A truck drove through the gates of the facility as hundreds of cadets were gathering for a graduation ceremony.
Reportedly, the camp training coast guards accommodates up to 400 trainees. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the apparent terror attack.
The port of Zliten is about 160 kilometers to the east of the capital Tripoli.
The Accident and Emergency Department of the Central Hospital reports that 50 of the injured have been brought to hospital so far.
The head of the hospital’s emergency department said the injuries of those admitted range from moderate to very serious, adding that four of the hospitalized have died.
The ministry demanded that hospitals receiving the injured provide all possible medical services, and coordinate activities with the ministry’s central operations room.
More than 5,000 IS extremists are active in Libya, according to the national Interior Ministry.
IS has seized several profitable oil fields in Libya and is eager to win more control over the country, as the land could provide them with millions of dollars to fund terror attacks.
The terrorist network is now targeting the Marsa al Brega oil refinery, the biggest in North Africa.
The attack on the law enforcement training facility in Zliten, a coastal town between the capital Tripoli and the port of Misrata, has become one of the deadliest since Islamists launched their terror campaign in conflict-torn Libya.
Libya has been in the throes of a chaotic civil war since the 2011 ousting and death of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.