MARIAM RIZK
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — A suicide car bomber in Libya targeted a checkpoint manned by troops loyal to a rogue general outside the eastern city of Benghazi, wounding three people, a security official said Thursday.

The bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle late Wednesday, killing himself and wounding three of Gen. Khalifa Hifter’s fighters, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Hifter is leading an offensive against Islamic militias and Islamists dominating Libya’s political scene. His troops, along with their allies, have bombed militia camps in and around Benghazi in recent weeks. Earlier last week, Hifter himself escaped an assassination attempt, but four other people were killed.

The fighting has escalated the crisis in Libya, which has been embroiled in turmoil since the 2011 civil war and the downfall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Heavily armed militias, born out of the rebel groups that toppled Gadhafi, are now the main power in the country.

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