Six Libyan Soldiers Killed in Ambush

Unknown gunmen launched a dawn attack on Tuesday on a Libyan army checkpoint south of Sirte, the home town of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, killing six soldiers, a military officer said.

"An attack at dawn Tuesday against a checkpoint of the army in the town of Khuchum al-Kheil, south of Sirte, killed six soldiers who were on guard duty," local military officer Khaled al-Akari was quoted as saying by Lana news agency.

"Two vehicles were burned in the attack," said the officer, adding that the "area was cordoned off and a search was on to find the attackers".

Sirte, the last bastion of Gadhafi to fall into rebel hands in the 2011 uprising, has been largely untouched by the wave of violence shaking the country since the former ruler's regime fell.

Libya's new authorities are battling to establish military and security institutions capable of restoring law and order and state authority in the face of armed militias who fought Gadhafi's forces.