Suicide bombings against Libyan forces battling to oust Islamic State from their former North African stronghold of Sirte killed at least 12 fighters and wounded about 60 there on Thursday, a hospital spokesman said, Samaa TV reported.
Forces, mainly composed of fighters aligned with a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, have been closing in on the center of Sirte, where militants now control a shrinking residential area.
Since Aug. 1 the United States has been conducting air strikes to support them. As of Wednesday it had carried out 62 strikes, most recently against fighting positions and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, the U.S. Africa Command said.
Last week the forces, who are directed from Misrata about 230 km (143 miles) from Sirte, made big gains, securing a number of large buildings and complexes in the town that had been used by Islamic State snipers.