Some 17 soldiers of the Libyan army were killed over the past two days during clashes with Ben Ghazi revolutionary council militants, a medical official told MENA Monday.

Five of them were discharged from hospital while the remaining are still under observation, said Fadia Barghathi, the media official at Galaa Hospital.

Benghazi has been the scene of fierce fighting between the Libyan army and rebels after the army managed to push them out from key areas.

Libya has been torn apart by conflict since the 2011 uprising against Moammar Gadhafi, as armed factions supporting rival governments in Tripoli and the east have fought for power and a share of the country's oil wealth. Militants abused the security vacuum to expand their influence.

Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, has seen some of the worst fighting, with violence escalating when military commander Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign in 2014 against Islamists and other armed groups.

Source: MENA