A Turkish security guard and a Somali civilian were killed. Guards shot at the car as it approached the building Saturday, killing two attackers before a third militant set off the bomb.

A Somali witness told AFP that an explosives-laden vehicle rammed the gates of a building housing embassy staff and exploded, also killing what he described as a passer-by.

The Shebab claimed the attack on their twitter feed, saying their forces “have just carried out an operation targeting a group of Turkish diplomats.”

“The Turkish are part of a group of nations bolstering the apostate regime and attempting to suppress the establishment of Islamic sharia,” the Islamists said.

The top United Nations envoy in Somalia strongly condemned a suicide attack against an office housing Turkish staff earlier today in Mogadishu which reportedly ended in deaths and injuries.

“My deep sympathy and sincere condolences go to the Turkish government, the victims and those who have lost their loved ones,” said Nicholas Kay, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia.

“Turkey has been working tirelessly and bravely to help the Somali people over the last few years,” he noted.

The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), which Kay heads, added that this is one of the several attacks that Al Shabaab has carried out during the holy month of Ramadan.

“I condemn all acts of terrorism,” Kay stressed. He added that UNSOM and international partners “stand firm in our efforts to help the Somali people to enjoy the peace and development they so desperately want and need.”

UNSOM, which began operations last month, is tasked by the Council with supporting the Horn of Africa nation as it seeks to build on hard-won gains achieved last year and emerge from over two decades of strife.

“The targeting of diplomatic missions and their staff is not acceptable and never justifiable,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General is confident that the Libyan authorities will take every action to ensure that the perpetrators of this attack are brought to justice and that adequate protection for diplomatic premises is provided,” he added.

According to media reports, Libyan officials said that a car bomb that exploded in front of the Embassy in downtown Tripoli this morning injured two French guards and destroyed much of the diplomatic compound.

Through today’s message, Mr. Ban sent his sympathy to the victims and their families, and affirmed that the UN would support efforts to improve security and legal order in the country.

“The United Nations remains committed to assisting the Libyan Government and people with the process of building a democratic state and affirming the rule of law,” he said.

In a separate statement, the members of the Security Council condemned all acts of violence against diplomatic representatives, which, they said, “endanger innocent lives and seriously impede the normal work of such representatives and officials.”

Through the statement, read to correspondents by Eugène-Richard Gasana of Rwanda, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for April, Council members reaffirmed that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, underlining the need to bring the perpetrators of such acts to justice.

An 11 September 2012 attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya resulted in the deaths of four US diplomats, as well as Libyan employees of the Consulate.

Mortar shells struck the cafeteria of the university’s architecture department in the central Baramkeh district killing 15 people, according to the Associated Press.

State media blamed the attack on “terrorists,” while the opposition attributed it to the government.

Loaey Mikdad, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, denied the government’s allegations that the FSA had attacked the university, he told the New York Times in a telephone interview.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the attack but put the toll at 10 people.

“The bombing of the Damascus University School of Architecture is a crime against the sanctity of universities and student life,” The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement.

“In continuation of its heinous crimes, and after the bombing of the University of Aleppo earlier this year, the Assad regime has once again attacked students with the bombing of the School of Architecture in Damascus. Dozens of students have been killed and injured. The Syrian regime continues to commit such unprecedented crimes in hopes of rebuilding the wall of fear that the children of Daraa tore down two years ago. The regime repeats these heinous crimes with the reassurance of international silence, which the regime views as a green light.”

The university mortar attack came as Syrian officials denied accusations by the opposition that an Iranian cargo plane carrying weapons to Assad’s regime was hit as it landed at Damascus International Airport.

“Damascus International Airport Administration stressed Thursday that work is continuous in the Airport normally and regularly, as the reception of the arriving plans and the departure of those travelling I is normal,” state-run media SANA said.

It added that news circulated by some media outlets, which are partners in the bloodshed of the Syrians, regarding the airport is false and untrue.

Separately, the Syrian opposition coalition, opened its first embassy in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday.

The report of the death of the ambassador and staff members follows the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, over a film by a U.S.- Jewish producer that ridicules and insults the Prophet Muhammad.

“I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere,”  Deputy Prime Minister of Libya Mustafa Abushagur said in a post on his Twitter.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed and condemned the deaths of the American personnel in Benghazi.

“The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind, ” she said in a statement.

According to Alyunaniya correspondent in Libya Rajab Benghuzzi: “Most Libyans here are against the attack at the US consulate which they believe was an act of provocation to create chaos in a time where Libya is struggling to overcome the turmoil following the ouster of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Hours before the attack at the U.S consulate in Benghazi hundreds of mainly protesters in Egypt marched to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Cairo, scaling its walls, and taking down the American flag from a pole in the courtyard.

The U.S. Embassy said on its Twitter account that there will be no visa services on Wednesday because of the protests. The U.S. Embassy in Libya also announced that the Consular Section will reopen on Monday, August 27.

According to Wall Street Journal The movie, “Innocence of Muslims,” was directed and produced by an Israeli-American developer who characterized it as a political effort to call attention to the hypocrisies of Islam. It has been promoted by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor whose burning of Qurans previously sparked deadly riots worldwide.

A 13-minute trailer of the movie that sparked the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Arabic, depicts Muhammad in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.

Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film, said he had not anticipated such a furious reaction.  According to  AP Bacile said he is Jewish and familiar with the region. Bacile said the film was produced in English and he doesn’t know who dubbed it in Arabic.

The two-hour movie, “Innocence of Muslims,” cost $5 million to make and was financed with the help of more than 100 Jewish donors, said Bacile, who wrote and directed it, according to the Denver Post. Though Bacile was apologetic about the American who was killed as a result of the outrage over his film, he blamed lax embassy security.

Tuesday’s protests came on the eleventh anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when U.S. cities were targeted by hijacked planes for the incident.

“Canada has closed its embassy in Iran, effective immediately, and declared personae non gratae all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada,” Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird said in statement.

“Canada views the Government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today,” he said.

“The Iranian regime is providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime; it refuses to comply with UN resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program; it routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide, he added.

In response to Baird’s remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said in a statement that the closure of the Canadian Embassy in Tehran by Canada’s government is the continuation of Canada’s Prime Minister’s anti-Iran policies and an obvious breach of international law.

He referred to numerous and hostile measures by the Canadian government against the Iranian society of Canada as closing down the visa section of the Canadian Embassy in Tehran and freezing the accounts of Iranians, as well as blocking cash transfer for Iranian university students of Canada.

“Hostile attitude of the Canadian racist government is indeed pursuing the policies as dictated by the Zionist regime and the UK,” Mehmanparast added.

The spokesman noted that the government of Canada tried hard to prevent Iran from holding the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit which failed due to negligence of participating countries and international personalities.

The United States also does not have a functioning embassy in Tehran since 1980, when 52 Americans were held hostages for 444 days. Britain’s embassy in Tehran has been closed since it was stormed by protesters last November.

The decision made by the Citizenship and immigration Canada department, came via a link on its official website that it had closed its visa section as part of an effort to operate “more effectively and efficiently.”

It said that all visa serivces would be transferred to the Canadian embassy in Ankara, in addition to being responsible for applications from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

The move has outraged many Iranians who had been planning to apply for tourist or immigration visas to Canada, with several expressing their dissatisfaction on Twitter and other social media, according to AFP.

The Iranian community in Canada has started an online  petition urging Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Mr. Jason Kenny to consider the situation and voiced their concerns regarding this decision that  as they stated “will impact the lives of almost every permanent resident or Canadian citizen with ties to Iran.”

Canada has in recent years been seen by many  Iranians as a desirable destination to migrate especially for educational purposes, though restrictions on that matter have recently been applied.

There are approximately 120,000 people of Iranian origin or descent living in Canada according to the  2006 census.

The closure of the Canadian visa office further narrows options for Iranians seeking to travel west, after Britain closed its Tehran embassy in November after Iranian students stormed it. The United States also has no embassy since 1980 after Iranian students attacked it and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.