Explosion damages home of Iran's ambassador in Libya's capital, no casualties

Security Personnel inspect the Iranian ambassador's house after it received minor damage from an improvised explosive device placed among garbage bags, in Tripoli, Libya, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the "terrorist" attack, which she said claimed no lives. She called on political rivals in Libya to form a national unity government to end the country's escalating chaos. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa) (The Associated Press)

Security Personnel guard the Iranian ambassador's house after it received minor damage caused by an improvised explosive device placed among garbage bags, in Tripoli, Libya, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the "terrorist" attack, which she said claimed no lives. She called on political rivals in Libya to form a national unity government to end the country's escalating chaos. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa) (The Associated Press)

Police tape secures the Iranian ambassador's house after it received minor damage from an improvised explosive device placed among garbage bags, in Libya's capital, Tripoli, Libya, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the "terrorist" attack, which she said claimed no lives. She called on political rivals in Libya to form a national unity government to end the country's escalating chaos. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa) (The Associated Press)

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.