Suicide bombers hit Libyan troops in Sirte, kill at least 10

BENGHAZI, Libya — Islamic State suicide bombers attacked Libya’s pro-government forces in the IS group’s former stronghold city of Sirte on Thursday, detonating two cars bombs that killed at least 10 troops, officials said.

Ahmed Hadia, a spokesman for troops loyal to the U.N.-backed government who are fighting to liberate the city, said the attack came in the western part of Sirte. The death toll is expected to rise since many of the 20 troops wounded were in critical condition, he added.

“We believe it was conducted by IS fighters who were already outside of Sirte and came to aid their fighters there, who we are surrounding as they remain in their last areas,” he said, adding that the cars rammed into the troops’ positon at a rallying area and a checkpoint before detonating their explosives. After the attack, pro-government forces launched a raid into a residential neighbourhood in the city, killing three IS fighters, he said.

Sirte is IS’s final bastion in the country, and Libyan troops have been forcing the militants into ever-smaller bits of territory there, backed by U.S. airstrikes. Suicide attacks are a much-used tactic by the extremist group.