Fifteen Libyan soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack on an army checkpoint between two towns southeast of Tripoli, a military spokesman said.
?An army checkpoint in Al-Malti region between Tarhuna and Bani Walid was attacked at dawn on Saturday by an unknown group. Fifteen soldiers were killed and four others wounded,? Ali Sheikhi said.
Libyan news agency Lana gave a casualty toll of 15 dead and five wounded, adding that the road between Tarhuna and Bani Walid, a former bastion of backers of Libya?s toppled leader Moamer Kadhafi, had been closed to traffic.
Members of Libya?s security forces, being trained to form a new army and police force in the wake of the 2011 revolt which ousted Kadhafi, are often the target of attacks, especially in eastern Libya.
With the authorities struggling to establish new security forces, many militia groups made up of former rebels who fought Kadhafi two years ago have refused to give up their weapons and effectively control parts of the country. (AFP)
