Libya govt forces say 80 militants killed in Sirte

AFP
Fighters affiliated with the Tripoli government use a broken mirror to observe the movement of Daesh militants as smoke rises from District 3, the last stronghold of the militant group in Sirte, on Sunday. (AFP)

TRIPOLI: Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government said Monday at least 80 militants were killed at the weekend in the city of Sirte, a former stronghold of the Daesh group.
“Commanders of front line units have counted at least corpses (of militants) killed as they tried in vain to attack behind the lines” of the loyalists, said the media office of forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA).
It said in a statement sent to AFP that the bodies of another 25 militants were found in alleyways of the battleground coastal city.
The pro-GNA forces, who reported eight soldiers killed and 57 wounded on Sunday, said vehicles, arms and ammunition were seized in the latest round of an assault launched on May 12 and executed in phases to recapture Sirte from Daesh.
A Dutch journalist covering the clashes in Sirte, Jeroen Oerlemans who worked for the Belgian weekly Knack, was shot dead on Sunday.
Oerlemans became the second journalist killed in the fighting in Sirte after Abdelqader Fsouk, a Libyan who died in July.
On Saturday, GNA aircraft conducted six sorties in preparation for another advance on the militants’ last hideouts in the city’s east.
American aircraft have also carried out 177 air strikes since Aug. 1 in support of GNA forces, according to US Africa Command (AFRICOM).
The fighting has left more than 450 GNA fighters dead and 2,500 wounded. The Daesh death toll is not known.