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Air strikes hit west Libyan town's airport, no casualties - official


    TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An unidentified warplane carried out air strikes on an airport in a town in western Libya allied with the internationally recognised government, causing minor damage to a passenger terminal but no casualties, an official said on Wednesday.

    The air strike hit Zintan, whose forces have sided with Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni's government against the rival administration set up by forces who took over Tripoli in the summer during factional fighting in Libya.

    "A warplane attacked Zintan airport this morning with seven explosives, one of which went off next to the passenger terminal and damaged the front of the building, and there are no casualties," Zintan airport spokesman Omar Matooq said.

    No one claimed responsibility for the strike. But forces loyal to Thinni's government and armed factions allied with Tripoli have carried out tit-for-tat air strikes for weeks on infrastructure and oil facilities as part of their conflict.

    Nearly four years after the fall of leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is caught up in a battle between two rival governments and their armed forces in a struggle for control of the North African nation and its vast oil resources.

    (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; writing by Patrick Markey; editing by Susan Fenton)