Battles in Libya's Sirte kill 18 soldiers and injure 120

Fierce clashes against the Islamic State (IS) militants in the Libyan city of Sirte killed 18 soldiers and injured another 120 on Sunday, according to Sirte's field hospital.

The hospital posted on its Facebook page that "the hospital has so far received around 120 injured soldiers, whose injuries vary from medium to slight."

The hospital also posted the names of the 18 killed soldiers.

Sirte, the hometown of former leader Moammar Gaddafi, killed in the 2011 uprising, was taken over by the IS last year.

Government forces on Sunday attempted to advance further into IS's two remaining posts in Sirte, according to a spokesman.

Sirte is located 450 km east of the capital Tripoli, and has witnessed increased violent clashes between government forces and IS affiliates since May.

In addition to the hundreds of killed and injured soldiers, the fighting forced city residents to flee to safer nearby cities.

The IS terrorist group is also responsible for several suicide bombings and deaths of foreigners in Libya.

The UN-backed government of national accord initiated a military service called Al-Bonian Al-Marsus, in order to fight against the growing IS presence in Sirte.

Plus, the U.S. air force launched several airstrikes against IS posts in Sirte, as per Libya's request.

The IS militants are retaliating mostly through snipers and land mines.

Source : XINHUA