Libyan forces battling Islamic State in Sirte suffer losses in push to advance

Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government suffered losses from snipers and mines on Friday as they battled Islamic State to win control of a strategic conference centre in the coastal city of Sirte. Islamic State is clinging on in the centre of Sirte in the face of a two-month campaign by brigades mainly composed of fighters from the western city of Misrata. Losing Sirte would represent a major setback for Islamic State, which established its most important base outside Syria and Iraq in the Libyan city.