Forces for the United Nations-backed Libyan government said Monday they had seized the security headquarters in Sirte, a crucial step toward retaking control of the coastal city that Islamic State has held for 16 months. The BAM group said that they had captured a hotel on the eastern front line that had been used by IS snipers, and that they had taken control of part of the “Dollar” neighborhood.
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After a lull in fighting last week, the government-backed forces launched a fresh assault on different fronts after first attacking IS positions with artillery and air strikes.
The forces are mainly made up of fighters from the city of Misrata, though other western Libyan towns and cities have also contributed men. They said they had foiled three attempted auto bomb attacks and destroyed an armored vehicle. A tank belonging to BAM was apparently blown up. The witness said shelling continued late into Thursday night, but it was quiet on Friday morning. The two-month battle for Sirte has killed around 280 pro-government fighters and wounded more than 1,500, according to medical sources at the unity forces’ command centre.
Libyan forces of the Operation “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous” allied with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya claim that they have edged further into the center of the city of Sirte, the Islamic State (IS) stronghold in Libya.
Libya fell into chaos after Western airstrikes – including some by France – drove out dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Gen. Khalifa Hifter and a coalition of militias.
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French, British and American soldiers are in Libya to “monitor” ISIS extremists, a military commander in the east of the country told AFP Thursday.
