The gang, made up of “five Libyans and one Palestinian… had tortured eight migrants,” said the Sirte Security and Protection Force, one of several that took part in the unity government’s battle to oust the Islamic State group from Sirte last year.
The migrants are being treated at the Ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, it said.
The arrests took place in Qaddahiya, a village south of Sirte, “after the publication of a video on social media showing scenes of African migrants undergoing unbearable torture”, it said.
The video shows the migrants being severely burned by their captors, who demand ransoms from their families.
The eight kidnapped migrants were released, the pro-government force said.
Libya collapsed into violent chaos after the 2011 revolt that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with a myriad of militias and several jihadist groups battling for influence.
