The Libyan Air Force has carried out additional airstrikes to takedown “fuel, drugs, and human trafficking gangs” in Zawiya, west of Tripoli.

The latest strikes launched at dawn on Friday targeted the Al-Kabwat militia and an ammunition depot belonging to Muhamed Sifaw, one of the biggest drug lords in the western region.

An illegal immigration hideout in the Harsha area was also attacked by the air force.

Several Sifaw militants, including African mercenaries, were killed in the airstrike, according to sources.

Reconnaissance flights also hovered over nearby cities of Sabratha and Surman in search of hideouts of illegal immigration gangs, the sources added.

The air strikes, which targeted gang bases in the western region, achieved their goals, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday, vowing that operations will continue until all objectives are realised.

During the past few weeks, the city of Zawiya saw several protests demanding the government to take action against the armed militias controlling the city, which the residents say are complicit or directly involved in outlaw activities.