Senior Libyan officer among the dead as plane crashes into house

The commander of Tobruk’s Gamal Abdel Nasser Airbase has been killed along with four other people after his aircraft crashed into their house as it was returning to base in the east of Libya. Air Brigadier Saleh Joudah was reportedly heading back from a bombing raid on the city of Derna when his plane ran into difficulties.

Reports confirmed that a man named as Abdallah Bualia along with his wife and two other family members were also killed when the jet hit their home in the Watar district.

Image of Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar

The Libya National Army has had a few of its aircraft downed in action over Benghazi and Derna. They are believed to have been shot down by opposition forces, although this is denied by the LNA, which claims that mechanical and technical faults in aging aircraft have been responsible. The LNA, headed by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, have been carrying out regular air strikes on positions held by Islamist forces in Derna for the past three years.

The news of the crash came as a policeman was killed and three of his colleagues were injured during a Tripoli bank robbery earlier this week. The police were gunned down outside the Suq Al-Thalatha branch of the National Commercial Bank in the capital’s Fallah district. The attackers are reported to have kidnapped the bank manager and three security guards.