240 unity fighters dead in battle for IS Libya bastion: medic

The two-month battle for the Islamic State group's Libyan stronghold of Sirte has killed more than 240 unity government fighters and wounded over 1,400, a medic said Tuesday.

Forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord began an operation in May to recapture the coastal city which the IS jihadists overran in June last year.

By retaking Sirte, the hometown of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the GNA forces would deal a major blow to IS which has faced a series of setbacks in Iraq and Syria.

Fighters from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) are seen around a tank on July 2, 2016 as they take position to hit Islamic State (IS) group targets in Sirte ©Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)

The command centre of the unity forces for the military operations against IS is in Misrata, 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of Tripoli.

"The toll of martyrs after two months of fighting is 241 dead and more than 1,400 wounded," the medical source in Misrata told AFP.

"Some of the wounded are treated in Libya but others have been transferred abroad, to nearby countries such as Turkey, Tunisia and Italy," said the source who requested anonymity.

The GNA forces have closed in on IS in Sirte, in an area measuring just a few square kilometres (miles).

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