Italian police have arrested five migrants accused of the grisly murder of scores of fellow would-be refugees when fighting broke out on a boat making the treacherous crossing to Europe, local media reported.

Sixteen people, most of them soldiers, were killed and 81 injured in clashes between the Libyan army and Islamist fighters in the eastern city of Benghazi, medical and military sources told Agence France Presse Tuesday.

"Most of the dead and injured are soldiers. Three civilians, including an Egyptian, were killed when a rocket hit their house," a hospital source said on condition of anonymity.

The United States on Monday condemned a weekend attack on an Egyptian border checkpoint which left 21 soldiers dead, and vowed to keep up support for Egypt's security.

Liberal factions appear to be the big winners in Libya's new parliament after the announcement of election results on Monday, analysts said.

The electoral commission finally announced the results of the winners of individual seats in the June 25 poll a day late and at a time when rival factions are involved in clashes for control of Tripoli airport.

Suspected militiamen have beheaded a Philippine worker in Libya after singling him out because he was not a Muslim, the Philippine Foreign Department said Monday.

Department spokesman Charles Jose said this reinforced the government's order to all Filipinos to evacuate the country because of the worsening security situation.

Islamist-led militiamen have stepped up their assault on Libya's main airport, controlled by rival fighters, which the health ministry said Monday had left at least 47 dead in a week.

The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until Saturday.

Egypt vowed on Sunday to punish the attackers who killed 21 border guards in its western desert near the frontier with restive Libya.

Militants firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns attacked a checkpoint, 630 kilometers (390 miles) west of Cairo, on Saturday killing 21 soldiers and wounding another four.

Islamist-led militiamen stepped up their assault Sunday on Libya's main airport, two days after the collapse of a truce with rival ex-rebels who control the facility, a security official said.

The renewed fighting, which killed at least one civilian, was condemned by the European Union, which urged restraint and dialogue.

Fighting between powerful militias battling for control of Tripoli's airport broke out again on Friday, just hours after they had agreed a truce, an airport official and witnesses said.

The clashes came as the government sought United Nations help to prevent the country from becoming a "failed state."

Libya on Thursday asked the United Nations for help to build up its security forces, with the foreign minister warning that his country could turn into a "failed state."

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz asked the U.N. Security Council to dispatch experts to train the country's defense and police forces to ensure they can protect oil fields, airports and other vital sites.