TRIPOLI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The air force of Libya's eastern-based army on Friday carried out airstrikes targeting terrorists near the oil crescent region.
The information department of the army said in a statement that warplanes carried out intensive raids on terrorist gatherings near the oil crescent, targeting supply convoys and reinforcements that terrorist groups tried to bring from the region.
The strikes destroyed the convoys and killed and injured a number of terrorists, the statement said.
Five Libyan army soldiers were killed when a terrorist group, called Benghazi Defense Brigades and allied with Ibrahim Jathran, a wanted ex-chief of oil installation guards, launched an attack earlier on Thursday and clashed with the army forces there.
The state-owned National Oil Corporation declared a state of force majeure in two large oil ports in the region, and announced that the attack caused losses of 240,000 oil barrels.
The oil crescent region is located some 500 km east of the capital Tripoli. It contains the country's largest oil ports.
