Unknown assailants threw an explosive device at a military checkpoint in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi early yesterday, killing three soldiers and injuring three others, security officials said.

The attack was the latest in a wave of violence against security forces in the city, the cradle of the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Nearly two years after he was ousted, the Tripoli government is still struggling to impose its authority on a country awash with weapons and where lawless militias do as they please.

“In the night, unknown assailants in a black Chevrolet car threw an explosive device as they passed a military patrol at one of the city’s roundabouts,” a police source said.

“There was no shooting. They then just fled.”

Abdullah al-Shaafi, spokesman of Benghazi’s security operations room, confirmed three soldiers had been killed and three others wounded in the attack.

Attacks on police stations and patrols have become frequent in the city, which has been the scene of power struggles among armed Islamist factions.

Meanwhile Libya confirmed yesterday that the headquarters of the state energy firm would move to the volatile city of Benghazi, a response to demands for more authority for the oil-rich region which may prove a headache for international companies.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) has faced calls since the end of the 2011 war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi to move more of its operation to the eastern region, which accounts for around 80 per cent of Libya’s oil wealth.

Officials have talked for months about restructuring the body under a plan that has yet to be approved by the General National Congress, Libya’s highest political body.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan told a news conference, “This was a decision that was taken by the prime minister’s office. Benghazi is a city that deserves to have such organisations as part of a process to end centralisation.”

Zeidan made no detailed reference to a current plan that would split upstream activities, such as exploration and production, from downstream activities, such as refining and marketing, with the former to remain in Tripoli.

Oil is Libya’s economic lifeline. The Opec member pumps at a rate of around 1.6 million barrels per day and has made the country rich despite its troubles.

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