Libyan pro-government forces are close to recapturing the coastal city of Sirte, after three months of fighting to reclaim it from Islamic State (Isis) militants.
A Libyan man checks a building used by the Islamic State fighters after it was captured by Libyan forces allied with the UN.-backed government in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersA view shows the interior to a court building used by Islamic State fighters after it was captured by Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government in Sirte. The Arab writing on the wall (R) reads, "Woe to Khawarij (extremists)."Hani Amara/ ReutersA fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government checks pamphlets in an office used by Islamic State fighters after it was captured by the Libyan forces in SirteHani Amara/ Reuters
On 22 August, the soldiers who are loyal to the UN-backed government searched facilities in the city which they seized from Isis, as they continue to restrict the militant group to a shrinking residential area in the city centre. This comes after significant progress was made on 21 August, after Libyan forces seized a prison and the city's main mosque, where senior militants, including leading Isis ideologue Turki Ben Ali, had preached. Most of the buildings, including a court house, had been vandalised by the militants, with Islamic State flags painted on the walls and Arabic graffiti written underneath. According to local media "dozens" of bodies of Isis fighters were found in the newly-captured areas, although it did not give a specific number and it was not clear when the militants were killed.
Islamic State painted flags and slogans are seen on a wall after Libyan forces allied with the UN.-backed government captured Al-Naqa neighborhood, in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersFighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government take cover during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersThe exterior of a building used by the morality police of Islamic State fighters after it was captured by Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersEmpty cells are seen in a house which, according to fighters of Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government, were used by Islamic State as prison, in SirteGoran Tomasevic/ ReutersEmpty cells are seen in a house which, according to fighters of Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government, were used by Islamic State as prison, in SirteGoran Tomasevic/ ReutersEmpty cells are seen in a house which, according to fighters of Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government, were used by Islamic State as prison, in SirteGoran Tomasevic/ ReutersFighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN.-backed government take position during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ Reuters
Sirte, hometown of longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been under Isis control in 2015 and before its recapture, was Isis' final bastion in the country. Libyan forces launched an operation to retake the city in June 2016, but advances stalled once they had entered the city due to suicide bombings, snipers and mines. However, the fighters have been supported by US air strikes since the beginning of August, which helped accelerate the progress.
Losing the city is a major setback for the militant group, although those who escaped are now based elsewhere in Libya and are expected to keep trying to exploit the country's political turmoil and security vacuum.
A sign which reads in Arabic, "The city of Sirte, under the shadow of Sharia" is seen as smoke rises in the background while forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advance on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of SirteReutersA fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government fires a weapon during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersA fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government checks a court building used by Islamic State fighters after it was captured by the Libyan forces in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersA fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government runs for cover during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersA tank is seen outside a building used by the Islamic State fighters, after it was captured by Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersLibyan's put out a fire following a car bomb attack in al-Gharbiat in SirteIsmail Zitouny/ ReutersMedics treat a fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government who was injured during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ ReutersA fighter from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government aims his weapon during a battle with Islamic State fighters in SirteHani Amara/ Reuters
