Car bomb at hotel in Libya capital kills three; gunmen hiding inside building

A car bomb exploded outside a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Tuesday, killing three guards, a security official said.

Security forces were surrounding the Corinthia hotel, the most prominent hotel in Tripoli, where gunmen believed to be responsible for the blast were holed up inside the building.

One gunman has been arrested, security spokesman Essam Naas said, adding that security forces were surrounding the seaside hotel. Two Filipino women were wounded by smashed window glass.

Tripoli-based al-Nabaa television channel said "senior officials" were inside the hotel. No more details were immediately available.

Libya is in turmoil, with two governments and parliaments vying for legitimacy and control four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

Tripoli is controlled by a group called Libya Dawn, which seized the capital in August by expelling a rival force. It reinstated the previous parliament and forced the internationally recognised government to operate out of the east
of the country instead.