Libya pro-government forces attack last IS bastion in Sirte

Forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) said they have launched a new attack on diehards of the Islamic State group in the coastal city of Sirte.

Backed by weeks of US airstrikes, the pro-GNA forces have recaptured nearly all of what had been the extremists' main stronghold in North Africa.

"We are attacking the last Daesh positions in district three," a GNA fighter told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS. The GNA forces media centre confirmed on Facebook that the attack had begun.

"Our forces are advancing inside the areas where Daesh is, in district three, and so far have taken control of" two banks and a hotel, the media centre said.

It also said they had thwarted an attempted suicide bombing. One pro-government fighter had been killed, the Misrata hospital's Facebook page said.

The forces loyal to the UN-backed GNA had said last weekend they were preparing to "liberate" the entire city after seizing several IS positions, including its headquarters.

The capture of the city by IS last year sparked fears that the extremists would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe.

The extremists took advantage of the chaos in oil-rich Libya after the 2011 uprising to seize Sirte in June 2015, hoisting their black flag above the city. The offensive on the ground has been backed by US air power.

The fall of Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, would represent a significant setback to IS, which has also faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq.