Despite claims from the “unity government” that they’ve virtually captured the entire city of Sirte away from ISIS, their troops are still sustaining substantial casualties, with a pair of suicide car bombings today killing at least 12 troops and wounding 60 others.
The troops were gathering near the center of the city, with an eye toward attacking another residential area which is still under control of ISIS, when a nearby checkpoint, and the troops themselves, ended up a target for car bombings.
The US has been heavily backing the offensive with airstrikes over the past two weeks, with officials now saying that as of today they’ve conducted 62 airstrikes. Just yesterday, officials said they’d launched 48 strikes total since August 1, which points to this being a substantial increase.
Unity government officials claimed three ISIS fighters were killed in other fighting over the course of the day, but they don’t appear to have raised the 70 percent of the city they claim to control, suggesting the attack more or less marked an end to the day’s push.