Forces of the UN-backed Libyan government on Sunday announced the launch of a deadly airstrike on an airbase of the rival east-based army located some 140 kilometers southwest of the capital Tripoli. 

A Turkish drone targeted Al-Watia air base, killing three east-based army soldiers and injuring six others, said TV channel Al-Hadath. 

The TV channel showed footage of wounded soldiers being treated in a hospital. 

Mohamed Gonono, spokesman of the UN-backed government's forces, said targeting the airbase came in retaliation for a deadly airstrike on Saturday on the military academy in Tripoli. 

"Our forces targeted positions of Khalifa Haftar's militias (east-based army) in Al-Watia air base, destroying military vehicles, an ammunition store and mercenary gatherings," the spokesman said in a statement. 

The east-based army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April, trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government. 

Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 people fled their homes from the violence. 

(Cover Image: Members of the Libyan internationally recognized government forces fire during a fight with Eastern forces in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya, April 28, 2019. /Reuters Photo)