Libya pro-government forces seize IS headquarters in Sirte

United States-backed Libyan forces said they captured the Islamic State group's headquarters in Sirte on Wednesday, the militants' final bastion in Libya.

IS fighters remained in several parts of the city, officials said, but seizing control of their headquarters has been the key goal of the forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord.

The taking of the headquarters followed rapid gains by pro-government forces through the city on Wednesday and after the United States last week launched air strikes on IS positions in Sirte at the GNA's request.

The city's fall to IS in June last year raised deep concerns in the West, with fears the jihadists were gaining an important foothold just across the Mediterranean from Europe.

"The Ouagadougou centre is in our hands," the operations centre for pro-GNA forces said, referring to the Sirte conference centre where IS had set up base.

Reda Issa, a spokesman for the forces, said IS jihadists remained in three residential areas of the city and in a villa complex near the seafront.

"The announcement of the liberation (of Sirte) will only be made once the entire city is liberated," he said.

The militants seized control of the city, the hometown of Libya's former dictator Gaddafi, in 2015.

IMAGE: Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government fire weapons during a battle with IS fighters in Sirte, Libya. Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters