Africa

Home page

Africa

Attack in north Libya leaves 19 army soldiers killed

25 December 2014 18:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. An attack by unknown gunmen on a power plant in the northern Libyan city of Sirte has killed 19 army soldiers, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The attack started pre-dawn Thursday when gunman targeted soldiers guarding Sirte’s main power plant. The ensuing clashes that erupted in the area of al-Qabiya in the western part of Sirte left 19 army soldiers killed, Libyan military sources said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the assault. However, military sources have said that Libya Dawn militants, who oppose the elected government and its loyal forces, were supposedly behind the attack.

Dawn forces seized the capital, Tripoli, in August after a month-long battle with rivals and set up their own government and parliament.

Libya has been gripped by militancy and factional fighting since the ouster of the longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. The militia groups that helped drive him out are now fighting for power and a share of the oil revenues.