TRIPOLI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Libya's east-based army announced Sunday that it has destroyed a Turkish-made drone aircraft of the UN-backed government in the capital Tripoli's M'etiga international airport.
"Our fighter jets targeted and destroyed the Turkish-made Bayraktar drone while taking off in M'etiga's military section," the army's information office said in a statement.
The drone was preparing to attack army positions when it was destroyed by the army, the statement said.
Flights have been suspended in the airport shortly after the attack.
The east-based army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli from the government.
The fighting has so far killed 739 people and injured 4,407, including civilians, according to the World Health Organization. And tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced due to the conflicts.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
