A spokesman and a state news agency say clashes in Libya between pro-government forces and Islamic State (IS) militants, as well as an explosion at an ammunition depot, have killed more than 60 people in just one day.
Hospital spokesman Abdel-Aziz Essa yesterday said 36 militiamen loyal to the UN-backed unity government died and 140 were wounded in battles on Tuesday with Islamic state militants in the city of Sirte, the last IS bastion in Libya.
Essa said that most of the casualties came in direct gun battles with the militants.
The official Libyan News Agency said the depot explosion took place near Tripoli following clashes with militias and killed 29 civilians
Tuesday was one of bloodiest days since forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) launched an offensive last month to retake Sirte from the IS group.
The fall of Sirte would be a major blow to the IS, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq where local forces and a US-led coalition are pressing an offensive against their positions.
A statement by the GNA said Tuesday’s fighting took place in several parts of Sirte, where militants are pinned down in pockets of the coastal city.
Speaking from the western city of Misrata, the source said the death toll had risen from 18 to 34, with the number of wounded increasing from 70 to 100.
It was one of the heaviest tolls since the pro-GNA forces launched an offensive to dislodge the IS from Sirte — hometown former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi — which IS seized in June last year.
The GNA forces earlier said “dozens” of IS fighters had been killed within 24 hours.
They also announced their “intelligence network is in full swing in preparation for the decisive battle” against IS fighters in the city, after repelling multiple counterattacks.
The statement said fighters were targeting IS-held areas of Sirte with heavy artillery, while loyalist aircraft were carrying out sorties every day to strike IS or carry out reconnaissance missions.
IS fighters “are besieged in a small area of Sirte and although they have sought to break out our forces have repelled all attempts,” the statement said.
It said that the militants had barricaded themselves in residential buildings and deployed snipers and explosive devices to fend off pro-GNA forces.
The IS has hit back with a string of suicide car bombings in a bid to defend their stronghold on the Mediterranean coast.
About 200 loyalist troops have been killed and hundreds wounded since the start of the offensive to capture Sirte, 450km east of Tripoli. An unknown number of militants have been killed.
The militias from Misrata honed their battle skills during the 2011 revolt and are now on the front lines of the battle for Sirte. They are among the best equipped, with an arsenal that includes MiG fighters and attack helicopters.
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