TOBRUK, Libya, March 4 (UPI) -- Two oil fields in central Libya were seized by militant groups, their identities unknown, pushing worldwide oil prices higher.
"Extremists took control of the Bahi and Mabruk fields and are now heading to seize the Dahra field following the retreat of the forces guarding these sites," said Col. Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for Libya's oil industry security service. The Mabruk facility, one of the country's largest oil fields, was the site of a gun battle on Feb. 11 in which 11 people died; it has been closed for several weeks because of violence and the current global oversupply of oil.