DHAKA: At least 30 people have been killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in southern Libya, officials say.

The blast is believed to have occurred after a group of people, reportedly including African immigrants, were trying to steal copper, reports BBC.

A hospital near the depot in Brak al-Shati, near the city of Sabha, says it is treating the injured.

Meanwhile, four soldiers have been killed in another day of violence in the restive eastern city of Benghazi.

In one incident, three naval officers were killed, and six others were injured, in clashes with members of the Salafist militia group Ansar al-Sharia.

Fighting broke out after naval officers arrested four people at their checkpoint when "a vehicle search found weapons and money", the army`s special forces commander in Benghazi, Wanis Abu-Khamada, said.

Earlier on in the day, a soldier was reportedly shot in the head in a drive-by shooting in another part of Benghazi.

The government has struggled to contain militias in control of parts of Libya, and Benghazi has seen an increasing number of clashes between the army and militias.

The militias took part in the uprising that led to the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but have been told by the interim government to disband or join the army by the end of the year.

BDST: 1108 HRS, NOV 29, 2013