Libyan airstrikes target group attacking oil ports

CAIRO – Libyan forces say they have carried out airstrikes against a militia attacking key oil ports in the east.

Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army, said the airstrikes late Sunday targeted fighters loyal to Ibrahim Jadhran, who are trying to seize the Ras Lanuf and el-Sidr oil terminals.

Libya's National Oil Corporation said Monday that the attack by Jadhran's forces caused "significant" damage to at least two storage tanks and warned of further damage to oil infrastructure as well as environmental contamination.

The assault on the terminals, which began Thursday, has forced the national oil firm to suspend exports and evacuate its employees.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi, and today is largely ruled a patchwork of feuding militias.