Twenty Libyan unity government fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded Friday in clashes with the Daesh group in their coastal stronghold of Sirte, pro-government forces said. Fighting was fiercest around Sirte's conference center, which has become a command headquarters for Daesh at the heart of the city, a statement from forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said. It said 20 fighters were killed and 105 wounded, updating an earlier toll of seven dead and 49 wounded. The terrorist group said on Twitter that two Daesh militants, a Libyan and an Egyptian, carried out suicide car bombings in southern Sirte targeting government forces. Pro-GNA forces launched an operation in May to recapture the city 450 km (280 miles) east of Tripoli, after the Daesh overran it in June last year. Sirte's fall would be a major blow to Daesh, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq. The two-month battle for Sirte has killed around 250 pro-government fighters and wounded more than 1,400, according to medical sources at the unity forces' command center. The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western Libya established during the 2011 revolt that overthrew dictator Moammar Gaddafi. A militia set up to guard the country's main oil facilities has also been advancing on Daesh. The GNA was the result of a UN-brokered power-sharing agreement struck in December, but it has yet to be endorsed by Libya's elected parliament based in the country's far east. A spokesman for the forces, Ahmed Hadia, said the latest clashes around the Ouagadougou conference hall complex and in the neighborhood of Ghiza Asskariya had been continuing for two days. "Our forces entered the complex and are fighting (but) they still cannot take the complex," he said. Militants had tried unsuccessfully to counter attack with three car bombs, Hadia said. "The deaths among our forces on Friday were a result of targeting by snipers and of mines," he said. The Ouagadougou hall became a key site for Daesh as it imposed its ultra-hardline rule over Sirte, using the center for meetings and religious instruction. The United Nations-backed government moved to Tripoli three months ago in an attempt to unify two rival administrations and various armed factions. While the new government has so far received support from powerful brigades from Misrata, it has made little progress extending its influence nationally and has continued to face determined opposition from hardliners in eastern Libya.
