TRIPOLI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) in Libya on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on a checkpoint of the eastern-based army on Saturday in the city of Jufra.

In the attack in Jufra, 650 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, three soldiers were killed and three others were wounded.

IS media arm A'maq published a statement on the Twitter to praise the "martyrdom of Abu-Muhammed Al-Muhajir," who attacked the checkpoint with a car bomb.

The statement said the attack killed and wounded 15 army troops. However, military and medical sources said the attack killed 3 soldiers and injured 3 others.

Jufra municipality consists of five small towns, Sokna, Zalla, Al-Fog'ha, Waddan and Hoon, of which Hoon is the largest town and has the third largest military airbase in the country, while Zalla has five major oil fields which have repeatedly been attacked by IS affiliates.

Jufra, which links the Libyan cities of the west, east and south, has been under the control of the army led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar since June 2017 when the area was cleared of militant groups.