The troops were gathering near the center of the city, with an eye toward attacking another residential area which is still under control of ISIS, when a nearby checkpoint, and the troops themselves, ended up a target for auto bombings.
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The death toll is expected to increase as some of the wounded fighters are in critical conditions.
Forces, mainly composed of fighters aligned with a United Nations -backed government in Tripoli, have been closing in on the centre of Sirte, where militants now control a shrinking residential area. “The group has shifted to using suicide bombers”, he added.
The operations centre for the forces loyal to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) said that 20 people were also wounded in the two suicide auto bomb attacks.
The UN-backed goverment forces launched an offensive in May to retake the coastal city, which they entered on June 9, and have faced heavy resistance as they move towards the centre. The country has been split between rival parliaments and governments, based in Tripoli and the country’s far east, each backed by an array of militias and tribes.
In an effort to resolve the country’s ongoing political standoff, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement late a year ago establishing a unity government.
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The security and power vacuum has encouraged both human trafficking and the Islamic extremists to establish a permanent presence in Libya, especially along the coastline.
