Libyan forces say advancing towards recapture of Sirte from Islamic State

Fighters ride a pickup truck as smoke rises during a battle with Islamic State fighters in neighborhood Number Two in Sirte, Libya August 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces said on Tuesday they had taken one of the last districts in central Sirte held by Islamic State militants, battling snipers and car bombs in their campaign to recapture the entire city.

Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government in Tripoli are three months into a campaign to oust Islamic State from their former North African stronghold and have encircled the militants in a shrinking section of the city centre.