Two French guards and several residents have been injured in Tuesday's attack.

 

　　French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has flown out to Tripoli to assess the situation and bring home two the wounded French guards.

 

　　"The target of the attack was the friendship between the people of Libya and France, but also, in the bigger picture, everyone who fights against terrorism."

 

　　The explosion has caused a huge amount of damage to the French embassy compound as well as surrounding buildings.

 

　　The motive for the attack isn't clear at this point.

 

　　France has increasingly become targeted by Islamic extremists, since its intervention in overthrowing al-Qaeda-backed militants in northern Mali.

 

　　French forces were also very active in the NATO-led mission in Libya which toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

 

　　There have also been several attacks on diplomatic missions in Benghazi, but Tuesday's attack is the first in Tripoli since the civil war ended with Muammar Gadhafi's death.