80 jihadists killed in Sirte

Forces loyal to Libya's unity government said yesterday at least 80 jihadists were killed at the weekend in the city of Sirte, a former stronghold of the Islamic State group.

"Commanders of front line units have counted at least corpses (of jihadists) killed as they tried in vain to attack behind the lines" of the loyalists, said the media office of forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA).

It said in a statement sent to AFP that the bodies of another 25 jihadists were found in alleyways of the battleground coastal city.

The pro-GNA forces, who reported eight soldiers killed and 57 wounded on Sunday, said vehicles, arms and ammunition were seized in the latest round of an assault launched on May 12 and executed in phases to recapture Sirte from IS.

A Dutch journalist covering the clashes in Sirte, Jeroen Oerlemans who worked for the Belgian weekly Knack, was shot dead on Sunday.

Oerlemans became the second journalist killed in the fighting in Sirte after Abdelqader Fsouk, a Libyan who died in July.

On Saturday, GNA aircraft conducted six sorties in preparation for another advance on the jihadists' last hideouts in the city's east.

American aircraft have also carried out 177 air strikes since August 1 in support of GNA forces, according to US Africa Command (AFRICOM).

The fighting has left more than 450 GNA fighters dead and 2,500 wounded. The IS death toll is not known.

Meanwhile, at least two people were killed yesterday in rare suicide blasts in the central Syrian city of Hama, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

State news agency SANA, citing a local police source, said two "terrorists" detonated their explosive belts near Assi Square in the city centre about 15 minutes apart.

The attack killed two people and wounded 12 others, Hama governor Ghassan Khalaf told state television.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, one of the blasts hit a building used by the ruling Baath party.

The IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said "suicide attacks by fighters from the Islamic State using explosive vests" targeted government buildings in the city.