A new air strike hit the Libyan capital’s sole operational airport on Tuesday, a day after a raid claimed by forces loyal to a prominent anti-Islamist general

A new air strike hit the Libyan capital's sole operational airport on Tuesday, a day after a raid claimed by forces loyal to a prominent anti-Islamist general, witnesses said.
  
Mitiga air base, in an eastern suburb of Tripoli, has been the city’s only working airfield since damage from heavy fighting forced the closure of its civilian airport in July. "We heard the roar of a plane then several explosions around the airport perimeter," a witness told AFP. He had no word on any casualties or damage.
  
On Monday, a low-flying fighter jet fired two missiles at the air base, which, like the rest of the capital, is controlled by Islamist-backed militia opposed to the internationally recognized government.
  
A security source said the strike caused no damage to the terminal or runway, although flights were temporarily diverted to Misrata airport, 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tripoli.
  
Forces loyal to retired general Khalifa Haftar said they carried out the Monday air strike. "It was our air forces which carried out the air raid on Mitiga base," held by "terrorist groups", General Saqr al-Jarrushi, a spokesman for Haftar, told AFP.