Five dead in Libyan shelling as IS claims two executions

Most of the casualties are children under the age of 10, according to local hospital

Five people were killed by shelling in the Libyan city of Benghazi, a local hospital reported, as the Islamic State group claimed it had executed two men in the east of the war-torn country.

The Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi announced on Facebook that four people were killed in the shelling yesterday and a fifth died in hospital, while three others were injured.

"Most of (the casualties are) children under the age of 10," it said.

A military source in Benghazi confirmed the incident, which happened in the central area of Laithi, but refused to say who was behind the violence.

Separately, Islamic State jihadists, in a video bearing the logo of Burqa, one of the "states" which the militants claim to control, said it had executed two men in eastern Libya.

One was introduced as a South Sudanese Christian, and the other was a Libyan said to be fighting for the country's internationally recognised government.

Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when a militia alliance that includes Islamists overran the capital Tripoli, forcing lawmakers to take refuge in Tobruk in the east.

Yesterday, a majority of Libya's internationally recognised parliament rejected a UN peace deal and a proposal for a national unity government, an MP and media reports said.