Suspected IS militants attack central Libyan town, kill 3
A lawmaker says suspected Islamic State militants
attacked a small town in central Libya, killing at least three people,
including the mayor.
Ismail al-Sharif said on Tuesday the attack happened
overnight. He says the militants torched several houses in the town of
al-Fuqaha, south of the coastal city of Sirte, a former IS bastion. IS had also
attacked the town in October.
Resident Rabie al-Zidani says the mayor and two
other security officials were beheaded in al-Fuqaha.
The attack comes as rival Libyan forces are fighting
for control of the country’s capital, Tripoli, where the death toll from days
of fighting has risen to 51, including both combatants and civilians.
Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising and
is governed by rival administrations, based in country’s east and west.
