Policeman wounded in Benghazi grenade attack

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)

At least one police officer was wounded when attackers threw a hand grenade at a patrol car in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday (January 14) in the latest in a series of assaults on security officials.

The city was the seat of the uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi more than a year ago, and the government has struggled to control rival armed factions there ever since.

The police car was parking near a crossroads close to the centre of Libya's second biggest city when it came under attack from a passing car, a police source said.

Italian officials said on Monday they were temporarily withdrawing foreign staff from their consulate in the city as they assessed the security situation after a gun attack on their consul.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Guido De Sanctis's armoured car on Saturday (January 12). He was unhurt but the attack was a reminder of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission there that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.