Special to WorldTribune.com

The council of the militia-held capital Tripoli announced it has launched an offensive to retake the coastal city of Sirte from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

Reports said at least 169 were killed in the fighting, with dozens having been beheaded and crucified by ISIL. There were also unconfirmed reports that 100 al-Furjan tribesman were abducted during the fighting.

“A real war has been going on in Sirte since Tuesday,” a council official in Tripoli told AFP.

“IS militants and armed residents from the city have been fighting continuously,” he said, adding that Sirte was also being hit by air strikes.

The Libya Dawn militia, which seized Tripoli last year, issued a statement announcing the launch of “an operation to liberate Sirte” on Aug. 11. It said the offensive was being spearheaded by “youths and residents from Sirte and our air force and revolutionary” fighters.

ISIL took control of Sirte, 450 kilometers east of Tripoli, in June.

Libya’s Tobruk-based government, which is recognized by the international community, denounced the fighting in Sirte in a statement on Aug. 13 and urged the international community to “assume its moral responsibilities” against ISIL.

The statement said that world powers were using “double standards” by fighting ISIL in Syria and Iraq and “turning a blind eye” to the presence of the jihadists in Libya.

  ISIL fighting armed residents of Sirte, Libya; Dozens beheaded and crucified, Libyan Dawn, Sirte, WorldTribune.com