Unidentified jet strikes Libya airport
Witnesses and local media report at least one air strike on Mitiga airport in Tripoli but scale of damage is unclear.
At least one unidentified jet has carried out an air strike, targeting Mitiga International airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli, witnesses and local media have said.
The extent of damage of Monday’s attack was not immediately clear. The airport is under the control of Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militia group that installed a parallel authority over the summer in Tripoli to the elected government sitting in the eastern city of Tobruk.
The attack came just days after Libya’s National Army declared a shutdown of the airports in Tripoli and Misrata, declaring them as “military zones”. A statement issued on November 21 asked the aviation agency to take all security measures to bring the order into effect.
In the last few months, fighter jets from an unknown country have carried out at least four air attacks near Tripoli, according to media reports.
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were believed to have carried out air strikes against armed groups in Libya last month. But neither has admitted responsibility for the attacks.
In late August, the US State Department said the US was aware of Egypt-UAE air strikes in Libya.
“We understand there were air strikes undertaken in recent days by the UAE and Egypt” in Libya, said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the US State Department.