The forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar rained rockets on Tripoli on Tuesday after being ousted by government loyalists from a string of strategic towns west of the capital.

The capture Monday of the coastal towns of Sorman and Sabratha and smaller settlements further south was seen as a major blow to Haftar, who in April last year launched an offensive to seize Tripoli.

Sorman and Sabratha lie respectively 60 and 70 kilometres (40 and 45 miles) west of the Libyan capital, about half-way to the Tunisian border.