Car bomb kills three near Libya’s Sirte

By Jihad Nasr

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) - A suicide car bomb on Thursday left at least three people dead, including the bomber, in the Libyan town of Al-Nufaliya, located roughly 125 kilometers east of the central city of Sirte.

Local media quoted unnamed security sources as saying that the bomber had driven an explosive-packed vehicle into a facility manned by forces loyal to Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament and military commander Khalifah Haftar.

According to the same unnamed sources, two pro-Haftar personnel -- along with the bomber -- were killed in the attack, while four others were injured.

Reinforcements had since been sent to the site of the attack, the same sources were quoted as saying, although the precise nature of the targeted facility -- whether a checkpoint or military outpost -- remains unclear.

Last week, at least 14 pro-Haftar personnel were killed in southern Libya in an attack later claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.

However, no group has yet claimed responsibility for Thursday’s deadly car bombing.

Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Following Gaddafi’s departure, the country's simmering political divisions yielded three rival seats of government -- one of which is based in the eastern city of Tobruk -- and a host of competing militia groups.