"A raid was carried out on a location of an armed gang known as Al-Nimri and Brothers," the department said.

The statement confirmed that the operation was carried out by a force jointly formed by security and military agencies.

After the gang was sieged by the security force, five of them were killed with another one injured in an exchange of fire between both sides, the statement said.

The gang is one of the most dangerous criminal armed groups in western Libya, having carried out crimes of kidnappings, murders, thefts and armed robberies.

According to the security authorities, the Attorney General's Office has issued arrest warrants against the gangsters who are involved in more than 30 murders and abductions and prevented them from traveling abroad.