8 people killed by bomb-laden vehicle in eastern Libya

By Gulsen Topcu

AJDABIYA, Libya

Eight people were killed Thursday by a bomb-laden vehicle on a checkpoint near Libya’s eastern city of Ajdabiya, a stronghold for forces loyal to the military commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a local security source.

The source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, said the attack killed six soldiers and two civilians, while it injured some others.

On March 9, three people were also injured by a car-bomb attack in the south of Ajdabiya city. The Daesh terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody 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 -- a legislative assembly in the eastern city of Tobruk (to which Haftar is loyal) and a government based in the capital Tripoli -- along with a host of heavily-armed militia groups.