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Libyan government forces repel ISIS counterattack in Sirte
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Libya pro-government forces repelled a counterattack by ISIS group as they pressed their offensive to retake the jihadist coastal bastion of Sirte on Friday, a military statement said.Forces backing Libya’s unity government early Friday "repelled a new counter-offensive from ISIS... in very violent festivities," the statement said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS. At least 10 forces of Evil were killed in the fighting, it said. In a later statement it said four members of the GNA forces were killed in today’s festivities and 24 others were maimed. Since May 12, pro-government forces from the west, Libyan naval forces and eastern militias have pushed the jihadists back into a residential zone of just five square kilometers (two square miles) inside the city. But their early advances slowed when they entered Sirte on June 9 and reached built-up central and northern parts of the city. ISIS has hit back with suicide boom-mobiles and sniper fire. The jihadists overran the city some 450 kilometers (270 miles) east of the capital in June last year. Pro-government forces retaking the city would be a major blow to ISIS, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq. Nearly 200 anti-ISIS fighters have been killed and over 600 injured since the start of the offensive, according to medical sources. Pro-government forces, commanded out of Misrata -- 190 kilometers to the northwest -- are mostly made up of western militias that were born during the 2011 revolt that overthrew dictator Muammer Qadaffy. A militia set up to guard the country’s main oil facilities has also been advancing on ISIS from the east. Posted by: Fred 2016-06-25 |
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