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Reports suggest as many as 140 people, including civilians, may have died in an attack on an airbase in Libya.

It was originally thought 60 people died when a government-allied militia tried to take over the Brak al-Shati base on Thursday.

The UN-backed government’s defence minister and the commander of the militia have both been suspended pending an investigation.

The prime minister’s office has denied ordering the attack.

A militia spokesman said they had “liberated the base and destroyed all the forces inside”. The town’s mayor said some aircraft had been set ablaze. Most of the dead were soldiers of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), an alliance in the east of the country which does not recognise the government in the capital, Tripoli. That force has been in control of the airbase since December. Its spokesman gave the new death toll of 140.

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More than 20 people have been injured in a small bomb blast at a military hospital in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

The explosion happened at Phramongkutklao Hospital, which is used by serving and retired members of the military and their families. It took place on the third anniversary of the 2014 coup which brought the military government to power.

Police said it was not clear who was behind the blast, which happened in a waiting room by a pharmacy. “We found pieces of a circuit and a battery, as well as some wires. We’ll investigate further but initially we found the explosive had a range of 2-3 metres,” the Bangkok Post quoted Deputy National Police Chief General Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul as saying.

Officials said most people had minor wounds from flying glass. “Eight people were admitted to hospital to observe their condition… among them is one woman who needed surgery because of shrapnel buried in her jaw,” AFP quoted hospital director Saroj Keokajee as saying.

Thai newspaper The Nation said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had ordered an immediate investigation into the attack at the hospital, which also treats civilians.

The head of the UN’s counter-terrorism committee has warned it is a question of “when, not if” terrorists use laptops to smuggle bombs on to planes.

Jean-Paul Laborde spoke to reporters after officials decided not to ban laptops from aircraft cabins on flights to the US from EU countries. Such a ban currently applies to flights from eight other countries.

Mr Laborde also said Islamic State (IS) fighters returning to Europe would be “more dangerous” than previous waves.

IS has been losing territory in Syria and Iraq, and Mr Laborde said these fighters, originally from Europe, would be hardened from years of war. He said several European countries believe the rate of fighters returning has increased by a third over the past year. “On average, these people are much more committed, more experienced and more skilled,” he said. “In spite of the travel restrictions, you will have a number of foreign terrorist fighters which will probably slip through the borders and go back, come back to these countries, especially with smuggling networks.” However the number of new foreign recruits going to the region is thought to be down.

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A Wrexham binman who researched bomb attacks on UK military targets and Downing Street security has been jailed for five years and four months.

Aabid Ali – known as Darren Glennon before he converted to Islam – told his wife he wanted to bomb an RAF base. He was arrested in November after radicalisation concerns were raised and pleaded guilty to a number of offences.

The judge at Manchester Crown Court said Ali “plainly intended to encourage terrorism”. The court heard that Ali’s wife worked at an army barracks.

Last year he was visited by officials over support for so-called Islamic State. Ali, 49, from Yale Park, Wrexham, told them he converted to Islam while serving a prison sentence about 20 years ago. He believed in Sharia Law, and the UK military was a “legitimate target”.

The court heard that despite being offered assistance by the prevent programme officers in October 2016, “the defendant remained unswerved in his beliefs”.

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More than 50 people are reported to have been killed in heavy fighting in Syria after so-called Islamic State launched an attack in Hama province.

The militants targeted villages under government control, and clashed with the army and its militia allies.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least 15 of the dead were civilians. The fighting is near a strategically important highway linking Hama city with the Aleppo area further north. The SOHR said at least 27 government troops or militia were killed in the attack, on the villages of Aqareb and al-Mabujeh. Another 10 bodies had yet to be identified.

Some of the civilians killed were put to death after being captured by IS, the observatory added. State news agency Sana also reported the attack in Aqareb, saying 20 civilians were killed there, but made no mention of al-Mabujeh.

IS was now fully in control of Aqareb, SOHR said, adding that the government had sent reinforcements to the area. Hama province is divided three ways between government forces, rebels and IS, with the militants mainly occupying the eastern part.