TRIPOLI, Oct 19 (Reuters) – At least nine members of a security agency were killed and several others wounded by a mortar blast during a training exercise in a city west of Libya’s capital Tripoli late on Sunday, a local TV channel said.
The blast, from an 82mm mortar round, caused casualties among members of the Anti-Threat Security Agency, according to Libya Alahrar TV channel broadcasting from Istanbul.
The Agency is a security force under the UN-recognized Government of National Unity led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, according to the force’s verified Facebook page.
There was no immediate comments by authorities on the incident.
Citing medical sources, Libya Alahrar TV channel said other individuals were wounded, without saying how many.
The incident took place in Zawiya, which is home to country’s largest operating oil refinery, around 40 km (25 miles) west of Tripoli, and has been the site of repeated clashes between rival armed groups.
Libya has been plagued by unrest since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and remains divided between rival authorities in the country’s west and east.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami, Editing by William Maclean)
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