Five dead in Libyan shelling as IS claims two executions

Benghazi: Five people were killed by shelling in the Libyan city of Benghazi, a local hospital reported, as the Islamic State group claimed it had executed two men in the east of the war-torn country.

 The Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi announced on Facebook that four people were killed in the shelling yesterday and a fifth died in hospital, while three others were injured.

 "Most of (the casualties are) children under the age of 10," it said.

 A military source in Benghazi confirmed the incident, which happened in the central area of Laithi, but refused to say who was behind the violence.

 Separately, Islamic State jihadists, in a video bearing the logo of Burqa, one of the "states" which the militants claim to control, said it had executed two men in eastern Libya.

 One was introduced as a South Sudanese Christian, and the other was a Libyan said to be fighting for the country's internationally recognised government.

 Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when a militia alliance that includes Islamists overran the capital Tripoli, forcing lawmakers to take refuge in Tobruk in the east.

 Yesterday, a majority of Libya's internationally recognised parliament rejected a UN peace deal and a proposal for a national unity government, an MP and media reports said.