Eight loyalist troops killed in Sirte

At least eight members of Libyan pro-government forces were killed Saturday during a fresh offensive on Islamic State group holdouts in the jihadists' stronghold of Sirte, a medical source said. Forces supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) - Libya's UN-backed, Tripoli-based administration - launched a bid to retake the city from IS six months ago.
They quickly seized large chunks of the city, but the offensive slowed amid an effort to avoid losses and to protect civilians still trapped by the jihadists. A hospital where pro-GNA forces are treated said on Saturday that it had received eight dead and 17 wounded fighters.