AP: Libya FM: Extremists seek to capture oil and gas resources

Libya's foreign minister said Sunday that extremist groups are making a renewed push to seize oil resources, after an assault on eastern terminals set storage tanks ablaze, sending massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri, speaking in Cairo, said the assault was carried out by militias based in the western city of Misrata and loyal to the rival Islamist-backed government in Tripoli. He said extremist groups have joined the attack, which forced a shutdown of the country's largest shipping terminal.

An oil corporation official, Mohammed al-Harari, said late Saturday that 850,000 barrels of oil were lost because of the fire in five storage tanks.

Fighting has erupted around Libya's largest oil terminal, Sidra, which is currently under the control of anti-Islamist militiamen allied with the internationally recognized government based in the far eastern city of Tobruk. The Tripoli-based government had vowed to "liberate" Sidra earlier this month.
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