Rocket attack on Tripoli beach kills five family members

July 5 (UPI) -- A rocket attack on a beach in Tripoli killed five members of one family and injured 25 other people, the Libyan health ministry said.

The attack Tuesday occurred just off a coastal road in front of Mitiga Airport on the east side of Libyan capital, the ministry statement said. Families go to the beach to escape the summer heat and power outages.

The fatalities included two young girls and two women. Among the injured, seven were listed in serious condition at Abu Sleem hospital, the ministry said.

"The casualties are the result of clashes on Tuesday between a security force and outlaws who fired a shell that fell on a beach in front of Mitiga airport," said Abdulsalam Ashour, a deputy interior minister with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord.

Armed organized crime gangs have claimed parts of Tripoli.

Earlier Tuesday, two local families clashed after one member was killed allegedly by a rival family member, the Libya Herald reported. After a funeral for the male Sumbul family member, gunmen from the Shadi family gathered outside Mitiga and started shooting at the rival fighters, according to the newspaper report.

In response, an unidentified person is said to have launched the rocket, which killed the people at the beach, the report said.

"There's been a security breakdown in Tripoli with kidnappings, car thefts and killings on the rise," Guma al-Gamaty, the head of the Taghyeer Party in Libya, said to The New Arab. He said there is "total lack of police or any effective security."

Because of continued clashes inside and outside the airport, flights have been suspended since Tuesday night and rescheduled at Misurata airport, the Libya Express reported.

In 2014, the airport was badly damaged in fighting between rival militias.

Rival authorities and militias have battled for control of the country since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.