Three people were killed Thursday in a suspected hit-and-run attack by ISIL militants on a town in southern Libya, residents and a military official said, the second such attack within days.

Gunmen stormed the town of Ghadwa, opened fire before retreating back into the desert, residents said.

The attack came after nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by ISIL on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of commander Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country’s internationally recognized government.

ISIL terrorist group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.

Source: Reuters