LOC20:10
17:10 GMT
TRIPOLI, June 20 (KUNA) -- Eleven ISIL militants were killed and seven soldiers from the Libyan army were wounded in clashes between the two sides near the city of Derna, east of Libya.
The armed clashes occurred as ISIL fighters tried to encircle a group of Libyan soldiers stationed near Derna, said an army spokesperson in a statement to KUNA on Saturday.
Some of the dead ISIL fighters were whisked off to medical facilities in the city of Tobruk to be accurately identified before burial, said the spokesperson.
The Libyan army affiliated with the government of Abdullah Althani, which has world recognition, has been involved in battles with insurgents, among them ISIL, in the cities of Benghazi and Derna.
ISIL has previously made its presence in Libya known through a number of horrendous killings and explosions affecting many government locations and other locations such as a hotel in Tripoli, where ISIL fighters killed 13 innocent people, among them five foreigners. (end)
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