Roads leading to the blasts-hit area have been closed to the public by some armed members of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), who insisted that it was a burning accident on a ship near a port, about 2 km from downtown Tripoli.

But those close to the scene told Xinhua that there were possibilities that the explosions were carried out by the remnant forces of fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi that remained in the capital.