TIRPOLI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed at dawn on Monday in a terrorist attack on government buildings in the Libyan central district of Jufra, some 650 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, a military source said.

A police station and a government office were attacked and burned by gunmen driving eight armed vehicles in the area of Fug'ha, a source of Jufra's operation military chamber told Xinhua.

The attack took place at 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) and lasted about an hour, "killing five residents who tried to confront them," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The Libyan army declared state of emergency after the incident and started tracking down the attackers in the southeast of Jufra, according to the source.

"Jufra is an oasis surrounded by deserts from all sides. The terrorists have the ability to infiltrate easily and conduct surprise operations," the source explained.

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