Rocket attack hits airfield in east Libya

Unknown assailants have targeted an airfield in eastern Libya with rockets without leaving any casualties or damage.

The manager of Labraq international airport said on Saturday that four rockets hit the facility overnight.

The airport, which consists of civilian and military terminals, has repeatedly come under attack in recent months.

Labraq is the major entryway into eastern Libya since the airport in Benghazi closed last May due to the clashes in the North African country. It is located some 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of the militant-controlled city of Derna, which was recently hit by Egyptian and Libyan bombings.

The airstrikes were launched in reprisal for the brutal killing of 21 Coptic Christians by local militants affiliated with the ISIL terror group.

The ISIL terrorists carried out bomb attacks in the town of al-Qubah on Friday in response to the Derna raids. Forty-five people were killed in the bombing and 41 others wounded.

A military source said Libyan helicopters took off from Labraq after the bombings on Friday to hit militant positions in Derna.

Libya plunged into chaos following a 2011 uprising against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. The ouster of Gaddafi gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.

The country has been witnessing numerous clashes between government forces and rival militia groups, which refuse to lay down arms.

The clashes among the rival militants, who had participated in the anti-Gaddafi uprising, are mainly over the control of oil facilities in eastern Libya.