Gunmen kill 15 soldiers in Libya
Gunmen attack a military checkpoint south-east of the Libyan capital Tripoli killing 15 soldiers.
Gunmen killed at least 15 Libyan soldiers in an attack on a checkpoint near the city of Bani Walid, a former stronghold of supporters of deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Several more soldiers are reported to have been injured.
It is not clear who carried out the attack, but since Gaddafi's downfall two years ago, the government has struggled to control armed groups.
The official, describing it as an ambush, said the attack took place on a road between Bani Walid city and the town of Tarhouna.
The troops came under heavy fire from the gunmen who drove vehicles equipped with machine guns, the official said.
An army captain was quoted as saying five soldiers were wounded in the attack in the Wishtata district.
The main road to Bani Walid was closed while the incident was investigated.
The lack of central government control over large swathes of Libya has left room for armed groups linked to clans and Islamist militants to thrive, analysts say.
Much of the recent violence has been blamed on groups which grew out of the rebel movement behind the overthrow of Col Gaddafi during the 2011 civil war.
Military officers and other members of the security apparatus are among those to have been targeted in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Libyan and Russian authorities have confirmed that Wednesday's attack on the Russian embassy in Tripoli was in retaliation for the murder of a prominent revolutionary leader.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was a reaction to the murder of Mohammed Andals Suaissi by a Russian woman. Media sources have also quoted Russian officials as saying the assault on the embassy was triggered by the killing.
The Russian embassy building in Dahra was attacked, looted and burnt by a crowd of less than 100 demonstrators, some of whom were believed to be armed.
The Libyan authorities offered their condolences to those affected by the attack and confirmed that two Libyans had been killed and another two seriously injured by security personnel firing shots from inside the embassy.
