A member of the forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) fires his rifle as others protect themselves behind a wall on August 28, 2016, in the coastal city of Sirte, east of the capital Tripoli, during their military operation to clear the Islamic State group's (IS) extremists from the city. PHOTO: AFP
Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government, supported since Aug. 1 by U.S. air strikes, have pushed militants back into a small residential area in central Sirte in a three-month-old campaign.
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Heavy fighting resumed on Sunday after a one-week lull. The Libyan brigades, mostly from the city of Misrata, say they are close to victory in Sirte, but they have struggled to defend themselves against suicide bombings, sniper fire and landmines.
On Sunday several brigades stationed close to Sirte's seafront advanced several hundred metres eastwards through Sirte's neighbourhood Number One, while other fighters overran Islamic State positions in street-to-street fighting to the south.
Fighters used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns to try to blast through Islamic State sniper positions.
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The Misrata-led brigades said there had been five attempted car bombings on Sunday in a "desperate attempt to disrupt the advance", though at least one of the bombs had been destroyed before it could reach its target.
The front lines in Sirte were quieter earlier this week as government-led forces said they were giving time to the wives and children of Islamic State fighters to leave the battle zone.
Almost all the city's estimated 80,000 residents left after Islamic State took full control of the city last year, turning it into its regional stronghold and expanding its presence along about 250 km (155 miles) of coastline.
The United States has carried out dozens of air strikes against Islamic State positions and vehicles in Sirte.
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This week the U.S. Africa Command said Marine AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters were being used in the operation, alongside jets and drones.
Libyan commanders say some Islamic State militants probably escaped around the start of the campaign to recapture Sirte in May, and their forces have been trying to secure the desert to the south and west of Sirte.
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