BENGHAZI, Libya — The last buildings occupied by Islamic State militants in Sirte have fallen into hands of Libyan fighters on Tuesday, officials said, as the fighters celebrated in the streets of the final ISIS stronghold in Libya.
Ahmed Hadiya, director of the media center for the anti-Islamic State operation, said, “This is the last major battle, but it is not the end of military operations, nor the declaration of liberation.”
Hadiya said that 12 fighters were killed on Tuesday in “intense fighting.”
The United States threw its support behind the anti-Islamic State operation in August, helping break weeks of stalemate with dozens of airstrikes.
While the extremist group has lost its major base in Libya, Islamic State militants might seek sanctuary elsewhere — such as Libya’s lawless southern regions.
The Islamic State and other extremist groups gained a foothold in Libya in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.