Two killed, nine injured in Benghazi clash

Two soldiers were killed and nine injured in clashes in Benghazi with fighters from Ansar al-Sharia, Libya's top group, military and medical officials said.

"A violent clash has been taking place for several hours between our forces and an Ansar al-Sharia cell," Colonel Milud al-Zwei, spokesman for Libya's special forces told AFP.

A hospital official said two soldiers had been killed and nine injured. Three civilians had also been injured in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the Libya Herald said it was not yet clear whether any other military units or militias were involved between the army's Special Forces Saiqa Brigade and Ansar Al-Sharia. 

The Libya Herald also reports numbers as having reached 11 wounded persons and three dead. All shops and schools are closed with teachers ringing round telling parents to keep their children away. The streets are entirely empty, apart from the combatants, it reports.

A message from Colonel Abdullah Saiti, the head of Benghazi Joint Security Room, has been broadcast, telling people to stay at home. The fighting was at its most intense at 6 am this morning according to a military commander.