Libya's jihadist challenge to last beyond Sirte defeat

A view of the scene following a car bomb attack in al-Gharbiat in Sirte, Libya August 18, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - The grand ambitions scrawled on a wall near the Libyan city of Sirte's Mediterranean sea front look fanciful now: "Islamic State's naval port, the departure point for Rome, with God's permission."

Beaten back by local forces over three months and by U.S. air strikes since Aug. 1, Islamic State is on the verge of losing the city where it exerted absolute control since last year, its most important base outside Syria and Iraq.