Four die as army, militants clash in Libya


FE Team | Published: February 03, 2018 12:06:04 | Updated: February 05, 2018 12:14:24


A member of Libyan National Army fires a weapon during clashes with Islamist militants in in Benghazi, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters photo used for representation)

One Libyan soldier and three Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed after a clash erupted between the Libyan army and IS terrorists near the town of Zalla in central Libya on Friday.

A statement by Mrada unit of the army's Oil Installation Guards said, "A secret surveillance patrol of the unit clashed with an IS group after they tried to blow up the railway station of Al Waha Oil Company."

The clash left a unit soldier dead and two others wounded, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement.

Zalla, a desert town in Al-Jufra district nearly 650 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, is one of the country's most oil-rich regions, containing five major oil fields.

Al-Jufra is located in an important strategic location, connecting cities of the west, east and south of Libya.

The municipality of Al-Jufra is under the control of the eastern-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar.

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