Libyan forces capture Sirte convention center from IS
Libyan forces battling to oust IS (Daesh group) from Sirte on Wednesday captured a large convention hall complex in the city center, seizing a symbolic base where militants once held meetings and flew their black jihadist flag; Reuters reported.
Securing the Ouagadougou Conference Centre as well as hospital and university buildings would mark the biggest advance made by Libyan forces in weeks. The United States 10 days ago began air strikes on Sirte, which fighters say hastened their progress.
"Our forces have complete control of the whole of the Ouagadougou complex, they even advanced some distance beyond the complex," Rida Issa, a spokesman in the forces' media office, said. Photos posted on the media office's Facebook page showed fighters with armed pickup trucks and a tank milling around next to the convention hall, which was pockmarked by shelling.
The large domed building is a landmark in Sirte, hometown of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and was used for meetings and religious instruction by Islamic State (IS) after they took control of the city last year.
Losing Sirte would be a major setback for the militants, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq. It would also be a boost for Libya's United Nations-backed government, which has struggled to impose its authority and faces ongoing resistance from hardline armed factions.
Forces aligned with the government, which launched their campaign for Sirte in May, saw the advance slowed as they approached its center. Led by brigades from the city of Misrata, the forces have suffered heavy casualties from IS landmines and snipers.
Clashes have been sporadic, with heavier fighting interspersed with lulls lasting for several days. IS militants are encircled in the center of Sirte but still control several residential areas, and the Misrata-led brigades have previously found it difficult to advance through neighborhoods in house-to-house fighting.
Since Aug. 1, U.S. drones and fighter jets have carried out a total of 29 strikes, earlier this week targeting several IS emplacements and a gun-mounted pickup, according to statements by U.S. Africa Command.
In Wednesday's clashes, the government-backed forces said they had also advanced to a cluster of unfinished blocks just west of the center of Sirte, known as the "bone buildings," which had been used by IS snipers and fighters had described as a major impediment to their progress.
At least 16 fighters from the government-backed forces were killed and 11 wounded, Issa said.
Earlier in the day, Libyan forces said they had lost a fighter jet over Sirte. Issa said the cause of the crash and the fate of the crew could not be confirmed. IS claimed it shot down the jet, killing a pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the group.
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