Car bomb kills two soldiers in eastern Libya

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya

At least two army personnel loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament, were killed Tuesday in a car-bomb attack in eastern Libya.

Libya’s Channel 218 television station reported that the car bomb blew up near Gate 60 outside the town of Ajdabiya, where forces loyal to Haftar are deployed.

According to the broadcaster, the attack killed two soldiers from Haftar’s 152nd Battalion.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, but the Daesh terrorist organization has reportedly carried out similar attacks in the past.

In March, the same gate was attacked by a Daesh suicide bomber who managed to kill three soldiers loyal to Haftar.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since when a bloody NATO-backed uprising ended with the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- in Tobruk and Tripoli -- and a host of heavily-armed militia groups.