TRIPOLI: Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government said on Sunday they had seized a building used by the IS to manufacture explosives in its coastal stronghold.

The bomb factory is the largest to be captured by fighters allied with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) since they launched an operation to retake Sirte in May, the forces said on Facebook.

They said the building was in the south-east of Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Muammar Qadhafi which the IS has controlled since June 2015.

The pro-GNA forces shared images of the building including several rooms containing explosive devices, cables and mobile phones.

The fall of Sirte, 450kms east of Tripoli, would be a major blow to the IS, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq.

The two-month battle for Sirte has killed around 280 pro-government fighters and wounded more than 1,500, according to medical sources at the unity forces’ command centre.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western Libya established during the 2011 revolt that overthrew Qadhafi.

The GNA was the result of a UN-brokered power-sharing agreement struck in December, but it has yet to be endorsed by Libya’s elected parliament based in the country’s far east.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2016