Special to WorldTribune.com

The Arab League has scheduled an emergency meeting for Aug. 18 to discuss a request from Libya’s internationally recognized government to “confront” Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in the Libyan city of Sirte.

The internationally recognized government based in Tobruk in the country’s east asked for the meeting on Aug. 15 and issued a statement calling for Arab air strikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, a coastal city which was seized by the terrorist group in June.

Jordan’s ambassador to Egypt and Arab League representative Bisher Khasawneh told reporters the Aug. 18 meeting will be held by permanent delegates to the Arab bloc, which is headquartered in Cairo.

Tobruk government forces and local militias have been battling ISIL in Sirte, attempting to oust the jihadists since Aug. 11. ISIL beheaded 12 local militiamen who had been battling them in the east of the city and hung their bodies on crosses, official news agency LANA reported on Aug. 15.

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have conducted air strikes in Libya over the past few years, targeting ISIL militants and militias opposed to the internationally recognized government.

  Arab states call emergency meeting after appeal from Sirte, Bisher Khasawneh, Libya  to stop ISIL, Tobruk-based government, WorldTribune.com