CORRECTS FOURTH GRAF TO REFLECT DAVIS BELIEVES THERE ARE NO LONGER ANY DAESH FIGHTERS IN THE AREA
WASHINGTON (AA) – The Libyan Government of National Accord is about to claim victory against Daesh in Sirte as the militant group lost its last hold in the country, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
Daesh militants have resisted Libyan forces in an area of a few blocks on the Mediterranean coast of Sirte – the hometown of slain Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
“We saw some ISIL fighters come out of there last night and surrender and Misrata militias are now going through there doing back clearing. Looking for IEDs [improvised explosive devices],” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said.
He said nine fighters and 10 women and children accompanied them surrendered. Davis believes no fighters remained active in the area, down from hundreds, but acknowledged he did not know whether any Daesh fighters are hiding in the city to launch suicide attacks.
He said Daesh no longer controls any residential area in Libya but he did not rule out a possible Daesh presence in the country’s deserts.
Since May, Libyan forces have tried to retake Sirte from Daesh, which captured the city in early 2015.
Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Gaddafi.
In the wake of Gaddafi’s departure, the country’s stark political divisions yielded two rival seats of government — one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli — each of which boasts its own legislative assembly and military capacity.
Last year, the two rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement in Skhirat, Morocco, which subsequently led to the formation of a unity government.
