Tripoli, 5 October 2013:
The government has declared three days national mourning after an ambush on the Tarhuna-Bani Walid checkpoint . . .[restrict]early this morning left 16 soldiers dead.
The men, who were part of a patrol manning the checkpoint at Al-Malti gate, were killed in an attack at around 6.15 am by an unknown armed group. Original reports said that 15 soldiers had been killed and a further four injured, but the number of dead is now being put at 16.
Describing the men as “heroes of the Libyan army,” a government spokesperson announced that there would be three days of national mourning, starting tomorrow, according to Libyan news agency LANA.
He extended the government’s condolences to the families and friends of the soldiers. [/restrict]
