An Italian doctor in his seventies who worked in a hospital in Tripoli has gone missing in Libya, Italian media reported on Thursday.

The foreign ministry in Rome told AFP it had activated "all the search channels possible" and was "addressing the issue with the usual discretion".

Armed men shot dead Thursday the head of security in the Islamist-held coastal city of Sirte, hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, a security source said.

Colonel Senussi Kaiba was killed along with his driver when gunmen opened fire at their car in a residential area of the city, the source said.

A Libyan senior oil official who represents his company in the OPEC cartel is believed to have been abducted in the militia-held capital Tripoli, a company official said Tuesday.

Samir Salim Kamal, an engineer with the National Oil Company who is also Libya's governor for OPEC, has not been seen since Thursday when he left the company's offices.

Libya's army announced a ceasefire Sunday, joining an Islamist-backed militia alliance in declaring a truce that the U.N. hailed as a "significant" step towards ending months of violence.

"We declare a ceasefire from midnight (2200 GMT) Sunday," the army said, stressing however that it would continue to pursue "terrorists", as U.N.-brokered peace talks resume in Geneva next week.

Assailants lobbed explosives at Algeria's embassy in the Libyan capital Saturday, wounding three people, a security official said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

The IS Libya branch said "soldiers of the caliphate" attacked the empty mission in a message posted on Twitter, together with a photograph of a tree-lined street with a fire in the background.

The European Union on Saturday hailed an accord between Libya's warring factions on creating a roadmap toward a unity government, but said there was still a "long way to go" to bring peace to the country.

The factions fighting for control over Libya agreed on an "agenda" to form the unity government after two days of U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva, the United Nations said Friday.

An Islamist-backed militia alliance on Friday announced a ceasefire in conflict-strewn Libya, following a breakthrough at UN-brokered peace talks between warring factions.

The militias have agreed to "a ceasefire on all fronts" in the North African country on condition that "the other parties respect the truce", Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) said in a statement.

Libya's warring factions have agreed on a roadmap to form a unity government after two days of U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva, touted as the last chance to avert total anarchy in the country.

The North African nation has been wracked by conflict since the overthrow of dictator Moamar Kadhafi in a 2011 uprising, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the country's vast oil riches.

Peace talks between Libya's warring factions kicked off in Geneva Wednesday in what their United Nations mediator warned could be a last chance to prevent all-out chaos in the oil-rich country.

The North African nation has been gripped by deepening conflict since the overthrow of dictator Moamar Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the nation's oil wealth.

The United Nations gathered Libya's rival factions for talks in Geneva Wednesday, amid warnings they could be the last chance to halt intensifying fighting for the country's main cities and oil wealth.

The North African nation has been gripped by deepening conflict since the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control.