A car bomb exploded late on Saturday close to the recently re-opened Italian embassy in Tripoli, a security official said.
It was not clear who was responsible for the blast.
Two charred bodies were recovered from the car, according to a statement on a social media page run by a local branch of the Red Crescent, but the identity of the occupants was unknown.
Some vehicles parked nearby were also hit, but damage from the blast, which could be heard at least 1km away, was limited.
The security official, who did not want to be named, said it appeared that explosives had been planted in the car.
The blast occurred next to the Libyan Ministry of Planning and near the Egyptian embassy, which is closed. The Italian embassy is about 350m away.
A reporter at the scene said roads had been cordoned off near the site of the blast and dozens of security officials and vehicles had been deployed in the area. The wreckage of the car that exploded was quickly removed.
Italy on Jan. 9 became the first Western country to reopen its embassy in Tripoli. It had been one of the last western missions to close in February 2015 after a coalition of militias seized Tripoli.
Tripoli is home to a large number of rival militias, some of which oppose the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) that Italy has strongly supported.
The GNA backed a recent seven-month campaign to oust the Islamic State group from its former North African stronghold of Sirte, about 450km east of Tripoli.
The re-opening of the Italian embassy drew protests from factions in eastern Libya who oppose the GNA and are aligned with a rival government based there.
Additional reporting by AFP
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