Eastern Libya forces strike from air, aim to retake oil site

Published March 16, 2017

FILE - In this March 5, 2011 file photo, an anti-government rebel sits with an anti-aircraft weapon in front an oil refinery in Ras Lanouf, eastern Libya. Libyan armed forces based in the east have launched more airstrikes against militias that seized oil terminals a day earlier, saying forces from the country's rival west were declaring war against them. Col. Ahmed Mosmary, spokesman for forces commanded by army chief Gen. Khalifa Hifter, says three airstrikes have hit targets in the area around the al-Sidra and Ras Lanuf terminals, where at least nine soldiers were killed in Friday's attack that drove out the army. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) (The Associated Press)

Libyan armed forces based in the east have launched more airstrikes against militias that seized oil terminals a day earlier, saying forces from the country's rival west were declaring war against them.

Col. Ahmed Mosmary, spokesman for forces commanded by army chief Gen. Khalifa Hifter, says three airstrikes Saturday hit targets in the area around the al-Sidra and Ras Lanuf terminals, where at least nine soldiers were killed in Friday's attack that drove out the army.

He says the army has deployed more forces in preparation of a counterattack to drive out the militias, known as Benghazi Defense Brigades, which are comprised of Islamic militants and former rebels recently defeated by Hifter's forces in Benghazi, Libya' second largest city. They're also joined by militiamen from the western city of Misrata.

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