Sky news_Fierce clashes have broken out between army special forces and
fighters from Libya's top jihadist group in the eastern city of
Benghazi, leaving at least three soldiers dead.
'A violent clash
has been taking place for several hours between our forces and an Ansar
al-Sharia cell,' Colonel Milud al-Zwei, spokesman for Libya's special
forces, told AFP on Monday.
Fadia al-Barghathi, spokesman for the
city's Al-Jala hospital, said three soldiers were killed and 10 others
wounded, along with four civilians hurt by stray bullets.
Zwei
said the fighting - the first of its kind between the army and the
Salafist group - broke out after a special forces patrol near the
group's headquarters came under attack.
'The army retaliated, sparking clashes with all types of weapons,' he said.
The
spokesman said fighting between the two sides spread to other
districts of Benghazi, especially near a charity clinic run by Ansar
al-Sharia in the Selmani area.
Ansar Al-Sharia emerged after the
2011 fall of Moamer Kadhafi's regime, with its military wing composed
of former rebel fighters.
Blamed for the murders of judges and
members of the security forces in Benghazi, it is also suspected of
responsibility for a September 2012 attack in which the US ambassador
and three other Americans were killed.
It denies any involvement.
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