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Libya crisis: Gunmen kill 12 including foreigners at oilfield | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Unknown gunmen have seized control of a defunct Libyan oilfield in an attack that left at least 12 people dead, at least four of them foreigners. | |
The gunmen, possibly Islamists, attacked the remote al-Mabruk oilfield south of Sirte on Tuesday night. | |
The oilfield, part-owned by the French company Total, has not produced oil for more than a year after it closed following rebel attacks. | |
In 2013, Total said they had withdrawn all their staff from the oilfield. | In 2013, Total said they had withdrawn all their staff from the oilfield. |
Despite reports that Islamic State (IS) gunmen were to blame, Mohamed el-Harari, spokesman for Libya's state-run National Oil Corp, insisted that the attackers were "unknown". | |
One man, who had spoken to his colleagues at the oilfield, told the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli that the gunmen had introduced themselves as IS militants. | |
Reuters news agency quoted Abdelhakim Maazab, commander of a force guarding the oilfield, as saying that two Filipinos and two Ghanaians were among the dead. | |
"Most were beheaded, some were killed by gunshots," he told the agency, adding that his force had retaken control of the oilfield. | |
Earlier reports said four foreigners had been kidnapped by the gunmen. | |
Last week IS said it had carried out an attack on the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli that killed nine people, including five foreigners. | Last week IS said it had carried out an attack on the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli that killed nine people, including five foreigners. |
In the past month there have been a number of attacks in western Libya that have been claimed by IS social media accounts. | |
It has not been clearly established whether these groups are IS fighters or people inspired by them. |