TRIPOLI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) on Saturday claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil field in the southern Libyan town Zalla, which killed two people and kidnapped four others.
"The IS militants at dawn attacked the border of Zalla town and took control of it, after clashing with the militias of Haftar," IS said in a statement.
A local official told Xinhua earlier that the "oil field 47 operated by government-owned Zueitina Oil Company in Zalla town was attacked by terrorists at dawn, which killed two guards and kidnapped four others."
The east-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar, which has been in control of southern Libya since January, also said it stopped a terrorist attack on the oil field in Zalla.
Located some 650 km southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Zalla contains five major oil fields which have repeatedly been attacked by IS affiliates.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
