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5 Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi in clashes with militants

Armed Libyan men wave their national flags during a demonstration marking the fifth anniversary of the Libyan revolution in the city of Benghazi on February 17, 2016. (AFP)

Five security forces with Libya's internationally-recognized government have been killed in clashes with Takfiri militants in the northern city of Benghazi.

At least 15 militants were also killed on Sunday when military forces launched an offensive against the terrorists, pushed them back in several areas of the Mediterranean port city and managed to retake the strategic port town of Marisa.

According to Libyan National Army (LNA), the forces also established control over the eastern city of Ajdabiya, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of Benghazi.

On Saturday, 14 more security forces were killed in Benghazi while trying to retake areas from Daesh or al-Qaeda-linked militant groups active in and around Libya's second largest city.

Libya has been struggling with instability since 2011, when the country’s dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown and regional factions got engaged in a conflict.

The capital, Tripoli, is controlled by a political faction, called Libya Dawn, allied with powerful armed forces based in the city of Misrata. The faction has reinstated the old parliament, known as the General National Congress (GNC).

The internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni is based in the eastern city of Bayda, with its elected House of Representatives in Tobruk.

Daesh, which has been engaged in heinous crimes in different parts of Iraq and Syria, has also exploited the situation in the North African country to set up strongholds.


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