Libyan forces retake Sirte from IS militants

Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government claim to have taken control of the port city of Sirte, after fierce fighting against Islamic State militants.

The loss of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, would be a major blow for IS at a time when it is under pressure in Iraq and Syria.

Clashes centred on the Ougadougou conference centre, which was once a venue for international summits but has now become an IS command centre. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government targeted the conference centre with heavy artillery fire, backed by warplanes. IS militants responded using sniper fire, machine guns and mortar rounds. The Tripoli-based government said that two soldiers were killed and eight were wounded.

Earlier this week, warplanes allied to the UN-backed government bombed IS positions in Sirte while naval forces fired missiles into the port.

Their spokesperson, General Muhammad al-Ghusri. Said that senior ID leaders have fled into the desert to the south but that several militants remain under siege in the city centre.

The unity government was formed in Tripoli more than two months ago, and US secretary of state John Kerry has said that it should be allowed to arm itself against IS, arguing that that would be “the only way to generate the cohesion necessary to defeat the militants”.