(VOVworld) – Forces aligned with Libya’s unity government said they had made significant gains in residential districts of Sirte on Tuesday as they battled to oust Islamic State from its coastal stronghold.

Fighters from forces aligned with Libya's unity government clear the Zaafran area in Sirte, June 11, 2016. (photo: Reuters/Stringer)

 
A spokesman for the government-backed brigades said they were securing 700 positions just south of central Sirte and had also gained ground to the west of the city centre.
Government-backed forces had also seized back an electricity company’s headquarters, TV and radio buildings, Bin Hamel mosque, and a second ammunition store, from Islamic State. IS militants are surrounded in a small area of Sirte. Over the past week they had faced counter-attacks from militants holed up inside the city, who have deployed snipers, mines and car bombs to fight back the government troops.