Libya's pro-Haftar forces claim to kill Daesh militants

By Walid Abdallah

TRIPOLI (AA) - Forces loyal to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar on Friday claimed to have killed three members of the Daesh terrorist group near the southwestern city of Sabha.

According to Haftar spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari, at least one of the slain militants was an Egyptian national.

"The operation was carried out based on intelligence that the terrorists were hiding out in an area 60 kilometers northwest of Sabha," al-Mismari said in a statement.

On Tuesday, pro-Haftar forces announced the launch of fresh operations with the ostensible aim of “safeguarding Libya’s territorial integrity, securing the country’s energy resources and re-imposing the rule of law”.

Libya has been dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- one in Tobruk (to which Haftar is affiliated) and another in Tripoli -- along with a host of armed groups of dubious loyalties.