(Reuters) - At least 18 people were wounded in two car bomb explosions that targeted a military unit in Libya's eastern coastal city of Derna, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky, a medical source and residents told Reuters early on Sunday.

Residents said the car bombs targeted a military unit called Bulahati belonging to the eastern forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the city center.

"We heard the first explosion, but we thought it was fireworks, then we heard the second," one resident told Reuters by telephone.

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"We found people around the Bulahati military unit and there was huge black smoke in the sky," another added. "We then discovered it was car bombs."

Derna, once a jihadist bastion, is about 292 km (182 miles) distant from Libya's second city, Benghazi, and was declared to be under the complete control of Khalifa Haftar's LNA in June 2018.

After the ouster of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, militant groups Al Qaeda and Islamic State have used the oil-rich country as a base for attacks, exploiting its chaos and lack of security. </s> (Reuters) - At least 18 were wounded by two car bombs at an Eastern forces camp in Derna in eastern Libya, a medical source and residents told Reuters early on Sunday. </s> Residents said the car bombs targeted a military unit called Bulahati belonging to the eastern forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the city center.

“We heard the first explosion, but we thought it was fireworks, then we heard the second,” one resident told Reuters by telephone.

“We found people around the Bulahati military unit and there was huge black smoke in the sky,” another added. “We then discovered it was car bombs.”

Derna, once a jihadist bastion, is about 292 km (182 miles) distant from Libya’s second city, Benghazi, and was declared to be under the complete control of Khalifa Haftar’s LNA in June 2018.

After the ouster of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, militant groups Al Qaeda and Islamic State have used the oil-rich country as a base for attacks, exploiting its chaos and lack of security. </s> Derna [Libya], Jun 2 (ANI): Around 18 people were injured after two bomb-laden cars exploded near the headquarters of the Libyan National Army (LNA) here, according to local media reports on Sunday.

This comes as more than 90,000 people have been displaced ever since the armed conflict between Khalifa Haftar-led army and UN-backed government broke out in Tripoli on April 12.

Fighting broke out after the Khalifa Haftar-led LNA launched their offensive to retake Tripoli, which is controlled by forces backed by the UN-backed interim government known as the Government of National Accord (GNA), according to Sputnik.

Libya has been largely divided into two factions ever since the death of its dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The LNA-backed parliament controls the east of Libya, while the UN-backed GNA governs Libya's western region from Tripoli.

While the US government has primarily backed the GNA which is led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, American diplomats and military officers have maintained contacts with Russia backed Haftar.

Most of the international community has urged for a peaceful resolution to the intense fighting which has ensued in the African nation.

Over 450 people have lost their lives, while 2,100 others have been injured ever since the in-fighting began, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). (ANI) </s> Residents said the car bombs targeted a military unit called Bulahati belonging to the eastern forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the city centre. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya – Libyan authorities say the death toll in a twin car bombing near a mosque in a residential area of the eastern city of Benghazi has risen to 33.

Local health official Hani Belras Ali said on Wednesday that 47 people were also wounded in the Tuesday night attack in the Salmani neighbourhood. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Benghazi police say the attackers timed the second bomb to go off as residents and medics gathered to evacuate the wounded from the first blast, aiming to cause a maximum of casualties.

The United Nations has condemned the bombings, saying that direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya: At least three people were killed and four wounded when a car bomb went off in the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya late on Thursday a medical source said.

The explosion hit a checkpoint at the eastern exit of Ajdabiya, a town south of Benghazi, a military source said.

No further details were immediately available. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya: A double car bombing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Tuesday left at least 11 people dead and others wounded, according to officials and a Reuters witness.

The attack happened in the Benghazi's Al Salmani district as worshippers were leaving a local mosque after prayers. </s> A car bomb explosion in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi killed three U.N. staff members on Saturday, several medical sources said.The attack came as the United Nations was brokering a truce in the capital Tripoli, where the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a surprise attack in April.
Two car bombs targeting a unit of the Libyan National Army injure 18 people in the city center of Derna, Libya.