News In Brief

Libyan Embassy in Beirut damaged in dynamite raid

Masked gunmen overpowered guards at the Libyan Embassy Wednesday and dynamited the building in an attack just before the scheduled arrival in Beirut of Libya's foreign minister.

The building was heavily damaged, but no casualties were reported in the predawn attack. The embassy's staff had left Lebanon after the seven-hour abduction Monday of Libya's top diplomat in Beirut.

A Shiite Muslim group called the ''Sadr Brigades'' claimed responsibility for the bombing and demanded the immediate release of Imam Mousa Sadr, Lebanon's Shiite religious leader who has been missing since a visit to Libya in 1978. The group also demanded that the recently restored diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Libya be severed, state-run Beirut radio reported.