The head of the Libyan Vital Installations Guard was assassinated by unidentified assailants in Benghazi after he joined the forces backing renegade general Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, according to state news agency MENA.

Special Forces Spokesman Miloud Al-Zouey told MENA on Tuesday that the assassination of Captain Azmy Al-Borghothy had been confirmed by his unit, which asserted that a trap had been set for him. No further details were disclosed. 

Born in 1981, Borghothy was an air defence officer who participated in the 17 February 2011 Libyan revolution before joining the Special Forces.

Borghothy recently joined Operation Dignity, the movement initiated on 16 May by renegade general Haftar with the aim of cleansing Libya of “terrorism and extremism.”

Amid the recent turbulence gripping Libya, AFP reported on Monday that 16 people were killed as a result of fierce fighting raging between Islamists and forces backing Haftar, adding that fears of an all-out war became palpable as hospitals urged citizens to donate blood.

An air force commander said the clashes erupted when three militant Islamist groups, including Ansar Al-Sharia, attacked a base of elite forces supporting Haftar.

Images posted on the Internet showed army helicopters firing missiles at suspected Islamist targets.

The Monday fighting was the bloodiest since mid-May when 76 people were killed following Haftar's launch of Operation Dignity.