At least 16 people have been killed in recent clashes between the Libyan army and militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, military sources confirmed Xinhua on Thursday.The fighting started after Libya National Army's warplanes launched air strikes on IS militants' sites this week, according to an army official, who declined to disclose his name. He added the army managed to take over an air base which the extremist group had seized and used as stronghold since last year.
The Libyan army said the air force also bomb sites of IS militants in Benghazi, killing seven militants on Thursday alone.The Libyan National Army, led by Major General Khalifa Haftar, has been waging a military campaign dubbed "Operation Dignity" against extremist groups in Benghazi for over a year.Although the army has claimed several times that they had gained ground in combating the extremist militants, the city has never been fully controlled by either side.