Taher al-Gharabili, head of Sabratha Military Council, told The Associated Press that ISIL gunmen “exploited a security vacuum” by deploying in the city center as the military was conducting raids elsewhere.
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Two Libyan military officials say French special forces are in the eastern city of Benghazi helping Libyan troops battle Islamic State militants.
Libyan military forces in Benghazi are under the command of General Khalifa Haftar and are loyal to the government based in the eastern city of al-Bayda.
UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler tweeted: “Concerned by slowness of political process in Libya, overtaken by military events, must speed up to stop Da’esh [Isis] expansion”.
American intelligence officials estimate that the group’s ranks in Libya have grown to 6,500 fighters, more than doubling since the fall.
SDF says he was sent by IS leaders in Sirte a central city controlled by Islamic State to take charge of Sabratha.
Officially France is only fighting Isis in Syria and Iraq by using its air force to drop bombs, but French daily Le Monde claimed on Wednesday that in fact the country has secretly opened up a front in Libya. The jihadists’ overnight seizure of the security headquarters and other buildings in Sabratha came days after a USA air strike hit an IS training camp near the western city, killing dozens, probably including a senior IS operative.
Security forces have since regained “complete control”, Benwir said. Italy announced on Monday that it would allow armed United States drones to strike Libyan targets from bases in Sicily.
However, according to French language radio network RTL, the DGSE has since launched a criminal investigation against Le Monde to investigate how the newspaper obtained the classified information.
Mr Hollande declared his country to be at war with IS after the November 13 Paris attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and soccer stadium that killed 130 people. He said the French advisers were not fighting.
On Wednesday, news agencies reported the presence of special forces and French secret agents in Libya engaged in covert operations against Islamic State militants in conjunction with the United States and Britain.
A violation of defense secrecy carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a €45,000 ($50,000) fine.
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Libya’s chaos, which began after the fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi five years ago, has given rise to the ISIS affiliate’s control of several cities.
