Diehards of slain Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi attacked a base in his one-time bastion of Bani Walid killing at least five ex-rebel fighters and wounding 30 others Monday.

Diehards of slain Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi attacked a base in his one-time bastion of Bani Walid killing at least five ex-rebel fighters and wounding 30 others Monday, a local official told media sources.

"There are at least five martyrs from the thuwar (anti-Gaddafi revolutionaries) and 30 are injured," said Mahmud Warfelli, spokesperson of Bani Walid local council.

"There are around 100 and 150 men armed with heavy weapons who are attacking. We have asked for the army to intervene, but the Defense Ministry and NTC (National Transitional Council) have let us down," he said.

Another local official, M'barek al-Fotmani, said the assailants had circled the base of former rebels who helped topple Gaddafi last year.

"The attackers are carrying green flags," symbol of the Qaddafi regime, said Fotmani from inside the base, a former NTC member for Bani Walid, 170 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of Tripoli.

Bani Walid was one of the last pro-Gaddafi bastions to fall in the bloody uprising against the dictator's rule.

The capture of Bani Walid was followed by the fall of the longtime strongman's hometown Sirte in a battle which also led to his killing and marked the "liberation" of Libya.