TRIPOLI: Unidentified aircraft carried out air strikes on a convoy carrying suspected Islamic State militants near Libya's Bani Walid early on Sunday, a member of the city council said.

Local forces and the United States have both used air strikes against militants in Libya. This month US war planes launched an air strike on a suspected Islamic State training camp in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, killing more than 40 people.

Islamist militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a security vacuum to expand their presence in Libya. Fighters loyal to Islamic State have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte, about 260km (160 miles) east of Bani Walid.