Eleven commercial aircraft have gone missing from Tripoli International Airport in Libya - ahead of the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Meanwhile a military jet has crashed in the country's eastern city of Tobruk, killing the pilot and four other people. But a Libyan security official told AFP that the plane crashed during a "demonstration flight." The pilot was killed, but the co-pilot survived, he said.
It is said the plane crashed because of a technical problem.
The crash came amid fierce clashes in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi between Islamist militiamen and forces loyal to General Khalifa Hifter.
While the US State Department is down-playing the significance of the missing planes, one official was quoted in the Washington Free Beacon as saying: 'There are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing. We found out on September 11 what can happen with hijacked planes.'
September 11 also marks the second anniversary of the raid of the US Ambassador's compound in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans - including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens - were killed.
