TRIPOLI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Clashes erupted on Saturday at a military checkpoint near the southern Libyan city of Murzuk between an army unit and militants, killing two soldiers and one militant, according to a military official.

"An exchange of fire took place between our troops and gunmen at a military checkpoint in Umm Al-Araneb area on the outskirts of the city, killing two members and one militant, and three other militants were arrested," Rajab Mehdi, a member of the army and police joint operations chamber in Murzuk, told Xinhua.

The militants are of foreign nationalities, he noted.

According to the military official, four armed militants driving a 4x4 vehicle launched the attack on the military checkpoint in the early morning.

"We very much expect that the militants have close links with Islamic State (IS). The investigations with the arrested militants will reveal the full details and motives behind the attack," Mehdi said.

Cities in southern Libya have recently witnessed escalating activity from IS remnants, who fled the city of Sirte following its liberation by the government forces late in 2016.

On Thursday, the IS in Libya claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a checkpoint of the eastern-based army that took place on Saturday in the city of Jufra, 650 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, which killed and injured several army soldiers.

On the other hand, two army soldiers in the eastern city of Benghazi were killed in an explosion of tank ammunition inside a military camp, military sources said on Saturday.