At least 14 pro-government fighters killed by IS in Libya's Sirte

At least 14 pro-government fighters were killed on Friday in clashes with the Islamic State (IS) group in the militant’s former Libya bastion of Sirte, a medical source said.

The majority of those killed were shot in the heads by sniper fire, hospital official Abdellatif Abdel Ali said.

Forces allied with Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have cornered IS fighters in Sirte, 450km (280 miles) east of Tripoli, since launching an offensive on 12 May.

After a pause in fighting on Thursday, pro-GNA fighters resumed the battle against IS holdouts in a seaside residential district of Sirte.

At least three US air strikes hit IS positions on Friday, an AFP journalist in the city said.

A pro-government commander told AFP that IS snipers were slowing the pro-government fighters’ advance.

"These gunmen are well trained and equipped. The haven't given in even with air raids and the siege we've imposed on them," Al-Hedi Issa told AFP.

"So we prefer to advance slowly in order to preserve the lives of our fighters."

The fighting has left more than 550 GNA fighters dead and 3,000 wounded. The IS death toll is not known.