Car bomb hits convoy of eastern Libyan military commander

Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government gather as they advance against ISIL. Ismail Zitouny / Reuters

A car bomb hit a convoy of the chief of staff of the eastern Libyan military outside Benghazi on Wednesday, killing one and wounding at least two people, security and military officials said.

Abdel-Razeq Nathouri was travelling from Benghazi to his base in al-Marj, a small eastern town, when the convoy hit him some 20 km outside Benghazi.

No more details were immediately available.

Nathouri is chief of staff to forces run by Khalifa Haftar, who has been receiving medical treatment in Paris, a French source said on Friday, confirming earlier reports from Libyan officials and media.

No more details have been provided on the treatment of Haftar, whose forces control much of eastern Libya — home to some of the country’s biggest oilfields.