5 dead in Libyan shelling as ISIS claims 2 executions

Benghazi – Five people were killed by shelling in the Libyan city of Benghazi late Monday, a local hospital reported, as the Islamic State group claimed it had executed two men in the east of the war-torn country.

The Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi announced on Facebook that four people were killed in the shelling and a fifth died in hospital, while three others were injured.

“Most of [the casualties are] children under the age of 10,” it said.

A military source in Benghazi confirmed the incident, which happened in the central area of Laithi, but refused to say who was behind the violence.

Separately, Islamic State jihadists, in a video bearing the logo of Burqa, one of the “states” which the militants claim to control, said it had executed two men in eastern Libya.

One was introduced as a South Sudanese Christian, and the other was a Libyan said to be fighting for the country’s internationally recognised government.

Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when a militia alliance that includes Islamists overran the capital Tripoli, forcing lawmakers to take refuge in Tobruk in the east.

On Monday, a majority of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament rejected a UN peace deal and a proposal for a national unity government, an MP and media reports said.