Updated

A spokesman for troops loyal to Libya's eastern strongman says they are pushing into central parts of Benghazi, clearing out the final areas held by Islamists and their allies in the eastern city.

Raith al-Shahiebi of the special forces media office says troops fighting for the Libyan National Army of Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter entered the Souq al-Hout and Sabri areas on Monday. One soldier was killed in the fighting.

Hifter is allied with the internationally recognized parliament in eastern Libya.

Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 ouster and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Benghazi has been the scene of some of the worst fighting in the past three years between Hifter's forces and Islamic militants and former rebels. Hifter's Dignity operation has been ongoing for three years.