TRIPOLI, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- A total of three soldiers were killed and two others wounded on Thursday in a car bomb attack at a check point in eastern Libya, a security official told Xinhua.
"A suicide bomber, who was driving a vehicle, attacked a checkpoint in Nawfiliya area where a number of police officers and army soldiers are stationed," the source confirmed.
"The attack took place earlier this morning. The Islamic State (IS) is believed to be responsible, given the short distance between the checkpoint and Sirte city, where everyone knows that the remaining IS fighters are moving in valleys and desert areas," the source added.
The source also confirmed that military forces had arrived at the site of the attack, and a number of military vehicles are securing the area.
Nawfiliya, nearly 120 km east of Sirte, is a part of the Oil Crescent, which is controlled by the eastern-based army led by Major General Khalifa Haftar since 2016.
Haftar's army has been engaged in a violent war against extremist groups in eastern Libya for more than three years.
Nine soldiers and two civilians were slaughtered last week by IS members who set up a check point in a main road in central Libya.
IS has been defeated in their former haven Sirte, some 450 km east of the capital Tripoli, last year by the UN-backed government forces. However, local officials fear that the extremist militants would regroup.
