Suspected ISIL terrorists attack plant near key Libya oil field
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A picture taken on January 6, 2015 shows the Mellitah Oil and Gas terminal on the outskirts of Zwara in western Libya. (By AFP)
Suspected ISIL terrorists have attacked a plant near a major oil field in eastern Libya but have been pushed back by security forces, witnesses say.
According to an oil field guard, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, the militants on Monday raided a power and water plant about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Sarir oil field.
The assault, which was also confirmed by an engineer and a resident, began after security forces thwarted an attempted car bombing by killing the driver of the car. They later clashed with the assailants.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack; however, Takfiri ISIL terrorists have previously targeted Libya’s oil installations. Militant assaults on export terminals in the east of the country have increased over the last months.
Sarir is a strategic area in eastern Libya as over half of the country’s current oil production comes from the region.
Libya has been grappling with violence and political uncertainty since its former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and later killed in 2011 amid NATO airstrikes.
ME
