Libya Alahrar TV said an 82 mm mortar round exploded during an Anti-Threat Security Agency drill in Zawiya on Oct. 18, killing at least nine members of the force in a country divided between rival authorities.
Several other people were wounded, the channel said, citing medical sources. It did not provide a number for those injured.
The force’s verified Facebook page identifies it as part of the Government of National Unity, which the United Nations recognizes, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah leads the government.
Zawiya is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Tripoli and has Libya’s largest refinery still in operation, Reuters reported. Armed groups have clashed there repeatedly.
Libya has faced unrest since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, and rival authorities remain in the country’s east and west. Authorities had not immediately commented on the explosion, Reuters reported.
