At least 11 people were beheaded Wednesday after an attack on a checkpoint controlled by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli, a spokesman for his forces said.

"At least nine soldiers were beheaded... in addition to two civilians" at the checkpoint about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Tripoli, Colonel Ahmad al-Mesmari said, blaming the Daesh terror group for the gruesome attack.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack at dawn on a checkpoint run by Haftar's forces in the Al-Jufra region.

Analysts and military sources say Daesh remains active in Libya, particularly the south, despite losing its stronghold of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast in December 2016.

Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Today it is split between rival parliaments and governments in the east and west, each backed by a set of militias, tribes and political factions.