The Government of National Accord (GNA) accused forces led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar of carrying out the strike Sunday in a residential district of the town of Morzuk.

The raid left "42 dead and more than 60 injured, 30 of them critically," municipal official Ibrahim Omar told AFP.

The GNA, on its Facebook page, condemned the attack, which it blamed on Haftar's forces.

Haftar, who seized swathes of southern Libya earlier in the year, has been battling since April to oust pro-GNA forces from the capital Tripoli.

With fighting stalled on the ground after initial advances by Haftar's forces, the two sides have increasingly taken their fight to the skies with warplanes and drones.