Libya's eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar attends General Security conference, in Benghazi, Libya, October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The head of the eastern-based Libyan National Army ordered an investigation on Saturday into the case of 36 unidentified bodies found near Benghazi two days earlier.

A statement signed by Khalifa Haftar said the investigation would try to identify the victims and find out whether they had been held in authorized prisons. It would also aim to identify, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the crime.

The finding of the bodies on Thursday night in Al-Abyar, about 70 km (45 miles) east of Benghazi, was the latest in a series of discoveries of corpses, some showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds, on territory controlled by the LNA.

Previously, security sources had put the number of bodies at 37.