Updated

A security official in Libya says an explosion outside the house of the Iranian ambassador in the capital Tripoli has caused minimum damage to the empty building.

The official said the explosion on Sunday was caused by an improvised explosive device placed among garbage bags outside the house of the ambassador in central Tripoli. The official said there were no casualties from the blast, which rocked the capital. The ambassador is not in Libya. The official spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to brief reporters.

Libya is teeming with rival militias, while a political dispute has split the oil-rich nation between two competing governments, one based in the east and another in Tripoli. Islamic militants have thrived in the chaos.