Libyan medics say a helicopter crashed near the eastern city where the internationally-recognized parliament is based, killing all six people on board, including the military adviser of a powerful general.

Tobruk Medical Center says in a statement Tuesday that the son of the adviser to Gen. Khalifa Hifter was also on board the helicopter, which crashed the night before.

The Libyan news portal al-Wasat quoted Col. Al-Safi al-Sanini as saying that the MI8 helicopter was on an official mission to Ras Lanuf oil terminal, once of three such facilities captured by Hifter's forces last week.

The debris was found 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Tobruk, where the parliament is based. Hifter is allied with the parliament, which has rejected a U.N.-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli.</s>BENGHAZI, Libya — A spokesman for Libyan forces based in the east accused a rival militia allied with the U.N.-backed government of carrying out an airstrike Tuesday that killed at least six women and a child.

Ahmed al-Mesmari, the spokesman for forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Hifter, told the LANA news agency that fighter jets bombed families near the central district of Jufra. He accused the "militias of Misrata" of killing civilians while targeting Hifter's forces. He said no fighters were killed.

Reda Eissa, a media official with the Misrata forces, denied the reports, saying that his forces did not launch airstrikes in that area on Tuesday.

Jufra is a three-hour drive south of Sirte, where forces from the western city of Misrata are battling the Islamic State group.

Libya was plunged into chaos by the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi, and is now split between rival authorities.

The Misrata militia is allied with a U.N.-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli. Hifter's forces are allied with the Libyan parliament, which meets in the eastern city of Tobruk and has rejected the U.N.-brokered government.

A helicopter crashed near Tobruk late Monday, killing all six people on board, including Hifter's military adviser. The Tobruk Medical Center said the adviser's son was also on board the helicopter.

The Libyan news portal al-Wasat quoted Col. Al-Safi al-Sanini as saying that the MI8 helicopter was on an official mission to Ras Lanuf oil terminal, once of three such facilities captured by Hifter's forces last week. The debris was found 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Tobruk.</s>A military helicopter crashed in eastern Libya on Tuesday, killing five people including officers loyal to authorities that have refused to cede power to a unity government, parliament said.

It was not immediately clear why the aircraft came down.

The victims included General Idris Yunis al-Dressi, chief of staff for Aguila Saleh, speaker of the internationally recognised parliament based in Tobruk in eastern Libya.

His son Ahmed Idris al-Dressi, who worked in the parliament, was also killed along with two air force colonels and one lieutenant.

The four officers belonged to the forces under the command of military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has refused to get behind a UN-backed unity government and supports the parallel authority based in eastern Libya near the border with Egypt aligned with the Tobruk parliament.

According to a statement posted on parliament's website, the helicopter was returning from an official visit to Ras Lanuf, a key oil export terminal.

Last week, forces led by Haftar seized Ras Lanuf and three other ports in the so-called "oil crescent".

They later handed them over to the National Oil Corporation.

On Sunday fighters loyal to the unity government launched an attack aimed at retaking two of the ports but were repelled.</s>Six killed in military helicopter crash in east Libya - source

BENGHAZI, Libya Sept 20 (Reuters) - Six people were killed when a military helicopter operated by armed forces loyal to Libya's eastern government crashed late on Monday, a military source said.

Among those killed was Colonel Idris Younes, an adviser to the head of Libya's eastern parliament, the source said, adding that two passengers survived.

He said the crash occurred about 65 km (40 miles) from Tobruk, where the eastern parliament is based. The cause of the crash was not clear.

The parliament moved to the east in 2014 after rival factions seized control of the capital, Tripoli, setting up parallel institutions.

A U.N.-backed government is now trying to establish itself from Tripoli, but it has failed to win endorsement from the east. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
An Mi-8 transport helicopter crashes near the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, killing at least six people.