The air force of Libya's eastern-based army on Saturday targeted a military store of the rival UN-backed government in the eastern part of the capital Tripoli, killing nine people and damaging a nearby hospital, authorities said.

Axar.az reports citing Xinhua.

All the nine people killed are civilians, including two women and a child, said the Health Ministry's spokesman Fawzi Wanis.

The army said the airstrike was "accurate and targeted the largest ammunition store belonging to the militias (government forces)."

The army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli, where the UN-backed government is based.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fighting so far killed 653 and injured 3,547 others.