Libyan forces take control of Islamic State region – Reports

Libyan forces said they had taken control of a residential neighbourhood in the middle of Sirte from Islamic State on Monday, leaving just one district of the city still occupied by militants.

A spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, said Sirte’s neighbourhood Number One was “completely liberated”, though he added that brigades were “in the process of clearing any remnants of Daesh (Islamic State)” from the area.

For more than three months, brigades aligned with Libya’s U.N.-backed government have been battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte, a coastal city that the militant group turned into a regional stronghold last year.

At least six brigade members were killed and 12 wounded on Monday, according to hospital officials.