By Libya Herald reporters.
Benghazi, 2 February 2016:
Three members of the Libyan Army Saiqa special forces were killed today, along with three . . .[restrict]civilians while Jalaa hospital reported that 22 people had been wounded.
It is understood that the soldiers died in Bouatni when IS forces counterattacked and retook the much fought-over Pepsi factory. The assault this morning prompted a response from the air force, which had resumed airstrikes on IS positions on Saturday after a lull of some days. This evening the fighting around the factory was continuing.
At least two of today’s air attacks were high altitude. One observer said that it appeared that the air force was using some sort of targeted bomb, possibly with a new warplane. Until now, most strikes from fast jets have been relatively low-level passes.
One of the army wounded in Bouatni was an unidentified Saiqa commander, who was hit by a sniper. Tanks then shelled the sniper’s suspected position. The officer is being treated in Jalaa hospital’s intensive care unit. A civilian was also injured by a sniper in Leithi. The other civilian casualties were caused by apparently random shelling. [/restrict]
