Libyan government says rival general attacks base in south

BENGHAZI, Libya – Libya's U.N.-backed government says warplanes under the command of a rival general have attacked an air base under its control in the country's south.

In a statement late Tuesday, the Tripoli-based government says "several" government-allied troops were wounded when an aircraft they were travelling in was struck in the attack by the eastern forces.

Libya fell into chaos following the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and rival factions and militias.

Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter answers to Libya's parliament, based in the east.

Internal conflicts are escalating even as Islamic State militants have been driven out of the central coastal city of Sirte, which had been the extremist group's last bastion in the country.