Libya unity forces pound IS in bastion Sirte

TRIPOLI: Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government bombarded the Islamic State group in Sirte with heavy artillery on Friday as part of a push to recapture the Jihadist bastion within days.

The loss of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Moamer Qadhafi, would be a major blow to the Jihadists at a time when they are under mounting pressure in Syria and Iraq.

Forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said they had pounded IS with "heavy artillery fire" targeting their positions around the sprawling Ouagadougou conference centre.

The Kadhafi-era complex, which once hosted pan-African summits, now houses an IS command centre. "The countdown has begun," the GNA forces said on Twitter.

They said they had freed an unspecified number of civilians who had been held by IS in Sirte, without giving details.

GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, including Misrata, that have sided with the GNA and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

Friday’s bombardment came a day after a spokesman for the GNA forces said they had pushed into the centre of Sirte, which IS has held since June 2015, and predicted that it could fall within days.