Forces aligned with the government, which launched their campaign for Sirte in May, saw the advance slowed as they approached its center.
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The forces of the Libyan government of national accord (GNA) announced Wednesday to have captured the jihadist group’s command center in Sirte.
USA warplanes on August 1, 2016 carried out air strikes on positions of the Islamic State group in the Libyan city of Sirte for the first time, the country’s unity government head announced.
According to United States and Libyan officials, the U.S. forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support to forces loyal to Libya’s unity government in a fight against Daesh, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
ISIL said it shot down the jet, killing a pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the group.
The support of U.S. aircraft to the Libyan forces occur amid a political context extremely tense in Libya.
Mattia Toaldo, a Libya expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the US mission in Sirte differed from the French presence in the eastern city of Benghazi, mainly because none of Libya’s feuding political factions would object to attempts to defeat the Islamic State.
“Our forces are making progress in their attack against Daesh, and have recaptured the Sirte University”, Rida Issa, a spokesman for the GNA forces, said Wednesday.
Present in Libya since October 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) is now on the run after losing some battles.
Quoting US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the Post said the US forces were operating alongside British troops, helping to coordinate American air strikes and providing intelligence.
Exploiting Libya’s power vacuum, Islamic State militants established a foothold in Libya, especially in Sirte.
The pro-government forces have had 16 dead since the last round of fighting started on Wednesday morning and more than 70 wounded, mostly by sniper fire and a suicide vehicle bombing.
Photographs posted on social media of the operation in Sirte show Libyan fighters in mismatched uniforms flashing the “V” sign for victory from atop of a tank.
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In a statement issued by the Tobruk government on Tuesday, the eastern government called for the replacement of the UN’s envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, who they said had “imposed” the leadership of the GNA upon the country, including Prime Minister-Designate Fayez Serraj.
