Libyan forces faced fierce resistance yesterday from Islamic State militants defending a final strip of land in their former stronghold of Sirte, losing at least eight men, officials said.
Forces supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) - Libya’s UN-backed, Tripoli-based administration - launched a bid to retake the city from IS six months ago.
They quickly seized large chunks of the city, but the offensive slowed amid an effort to avoid losses and to protect civilians still trapped by the militants.
A hospital where pro-GNA forces are treated said yesterday that it had received eight dead and 26 wounded fighters.
The loyalist forces’ press centre said on its Facebook page that IS had carried out two suicide attacks.
Forces led by fighters from the city of Misrata and backed by US air strikes have taken all but a few dozen houses near Sirte’s Mediterranean seafront since they began their campaign to recapture the city in May.
As the battle has worn on they have advanced more cautiously, trying to limit casualties among their fighters and among civilians and captives trapped with the militants.
Islamic State militants have defended their positions using snipers, tunnels, and hidden explosives.
The Misrata-led forces said in statements posted on social media accounts that they faced two suicide bombers, one using a belt and the other grenades.
They also said that “a woman from Daesh (Islamic State) betrayed our forces and fired towards them when they try to provide a safe passage for her”.
The Misrata-led brigades said they had nevertheless managed to take control of new houses in the contested Ghiza Bahriya district.
Islamic State took full control of Sirte early last year, extending its presence along about 250km (155 miles) of Libya’s coastline.
Sirte’s loss would leave the militant group without any territory in the North African country, though some of its fighters escaped during the early stages of the campaign and officials fear they will wage an insurgency from the south and west of the city.
The US has carried out at least 420 air strikes since beginning an air campaign against Islamic State in Sirte on Aug 1.
Pro-GNA fighters said they had taken around 30 buildings from IS in Sirte, the former hometown of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which is around 450km (280 miles) east of Tripoli.
Six months of fighting have left nearly 700 GNA fighters dead and 3,000 wounded.
The death toll for the militants is not known.