Libya government troops “soon to seize IS stronghold of Sirte”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Forces aligned with Libya's unity government were engaged in fierce clashes with Islamic State on Thursday, June 9 in the group's stronghold of Sirte, but were facing resistance from snipers as they edged toward the city center, Reuters reports.

Brigades in the western city of Misrata have advanced rapidly, driving militants back along the coastal road west of Sirte before seizing strategic points on the edge of the city.

A separate militia controlling oil terminals in Libya's oil crescent, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), says it is making ground from the east, reducing the 250 km (155 mile) strip of Mediterranean coastline that Islamic State held by at least half.

If the advances are sustained, they could dislodge Islamic State from its most important base outside the Middle East and provide a boost to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

Mohamed al-Gasri, a military spokesman based in Misrata, said fighting was underway on Thursday near the Ouagadougou conference hall, where Islamic State holds religious instruction sessions, Reuters says.

"We think that Sirte will be liberated within days not weeks," Gasri said. "The Daesh (Islamic State) snipers are a concern to us because they shoot from long distances and that has hindered us in the battle inside the city," he added.

The brigades had already claimed control over a number of strategic sites on Sirte's outskirts including an air base, several military camps and a roundabout where Islamic State had previously hung the bodies of executed enemies.

Dozens of brigade members have been killed and hundreds wounded in the past month of fighting. On Wednesday alone, 15 men were killed and 95 injured, a Misrata hospital spokesman said.