Libyan Islamist forces bomb eastern oil ports

Two major oil-ports in eastern Libya, Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf, were hit by an air-raid on Tuesday launched by the Islamist armed forces, according to security sources.

A warplane fired rockets at oil facilities in Es Sidra and the airport in Ras Lanuf but caused no severe damage or casualties, an official from the Petroleum Facility Guard (PFG) said.

The Islamist armed alliance Libya Dawn did not confirm the attack.

Since mid-December, Libya Dawn militants have mounted assaults trying to seize the oil terminals, aiming to cut off any oil income to the internationally recognised government and parliament, now exiled in al-Beida and Tobruk.

Libya has witnessed a drastic escalation of violence after the 2011 turmoil which toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The Islamist militants and pro-secular army forces have been vying for cities and towns for months, and fighting continues near major cities like Benghazi and Tripoli.