Suicide bomber kills at least two in east Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya — A suicide bomber on Tuesday attacked a checkpoint in eastern Libya held by militiamen loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar, killing at least two people including a civilian, a senior security official said.

The attacker also killed a fighter from Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) when the vehicle they were driving exploded at a roadblock 90 kilometres east of Sirte, General Al Mabruk Sahban told Agence France-Presse.

The attack has not yet been claimed.

Sahban added that earlier in the day security services had detonated another car bomb discovered in the area.

The attack on the checkpoint comes a day after Haftar announced the start of military operations to "liberate" the eastern city of Derna on Monday, following clashes between his forces and rival militias on the city's outskirts.

"Zero hour for the liberation of Derna has struck. Our army forces are now targeting their hideouts," Haftar said in a speech at a military parade in Benghazi on Monday, according to the Reuters News Agency. 

"We have given instructions to avoid civilians," he said. "The peace efforts in Derna have reached a dead end."

Derna is the last major bastion of opposition to Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in eastern Libya. The LNA has surrounded the city, on the coastal highway between Benghazi and Egypt, and has long threatened to begin ground operations there.

However, its campaign has so far been limited to encirclement along with occasional air strikes and bombardments.

Egypt, which backs the LNA, has also carried out air strikes in Derna against what it said were training camps sending militants into Egypt.

There were air strikes southeast of Derna late on Sunday, followed by clashes on Monday around a flour factory east of the city, Reuters reported. Four LNA troops were killed and five wounded, a field hospital doctor said. 

In recent weeks the LNA has deployed new units in the Derna area and at the end of April, Haftar made a rare visit to forces stationed outside the city, following his return from medical treatment in France.

After Libya split in 2014 between rival camps in the east and west of the country, Haftar gradually emerged as the dominant figure in the east. He is aligned with a parliament and government based in eastern Libya and opposes the internationally-recognised government in the capital, Tripoli.

On Monday, he was attending a military parade in Benghazi to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of his "Dignity Operation", the campaign in which the LNA battled religious extremists and other rivals to take control of Benghazi last year.