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BENGHAZI, Libya, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) A suicide bomb attack killed at least 23 people in Libya's Benghazi on Tuesday, targeting security forces, military and medical sources said.

Men inspect the wreckage of a vehicle following clashes between forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar andBenghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), an Islamist-leaning armed group, in the Magrun area, south of Benghazi, Libya July 21, 2016. (Reuters photo)

Dozens of others were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of the city, a hospital official said.

A coalition of Islamist militias, called the Shura Council of Benghazi Rebels, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

"The artillery of the Shura Council of Benghazi Rebels targeted a gathering of the forces of Hafter with howitzer in Gwarsha area," the group said on its Twitter account.

The attack came after the U.S. launched on Monday the first airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in the Libyan city of Sirte, at the request of Libya's UN-brokered government.

Benghazi, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been witnessing a violet war between militant groups and the Libyan army since May 2014 when General Khalifa Haftar launched military operation "Dignity" against militants in the city.

Meanwhile, forces of the UN-backed unity government have been engaged in a fierce war against the IS in Sirte.