A Libyan official says warplanes belonging to the country’s east-based military have carried out at least nine airstrikes targeting Islamic militias near an oil field in central Libya.
Faisal Ahbale, a spokesperson for the east-based forces, told The Associated Press on Friday that the airstrikes hit militias known as Bengahzi Defense Brigades.
They are a mixture of Islamic militants and former rebels recently defeated in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city.
Ahbale says the militias were advancing toward a key oil field in the hands of the army and called al-Mabrouk, located 120km south of the so-called Oil Crescent – a geographical region along the central part of Libya’s Mediterranean Sea coast where most oil terminals are located.
He says five militiamen were killed and 20 were wounded.
