Islamic State fighters had overrun the Abu Grain checkpoint, town
and several nearby villages after carrying out coordinated suicide bomb
attacks on May 5.
A still
image from video released May 17, 2016 shows forces loyal to Libyan
unity government outside the National Commercial bank after the
recapture of Abu Grain, one of the main checkpoints south of the city of
Misrata, Libya from Islamic State.
Libyan military forces said on Tuesday they had recaptured one of the main checkpoints south of the city of Misrata from Islamic State, reversing some of the gains the militant group made earlier this month.
Three
members of the armed forces were killed and 10 wounded in a mine
explosion as they took control of the checkpoint at Abu Grain, said
Mohamed al-Gasri, a spokesman for an operation room set up by Libya's U.N.-backed unity government.
Islamic
State fighters had overrun the Abu Grain checkpoint, town and several
nearby villages after carrying out coordinated suicide bomb attacks on
May 5.
Abu Grain is about 140 km (85 miles) west
of Islamic State's Libyan stronghold of Sirte, on the main road leading
south from port city of Misrata.
The military have yet to take full control of the area, however.
"There are skirmishes from time to time against the militants," said Gasri. "We will keep making progress to clean Abu Grain town of those militants".
The
unity government arrived in Tripoli in late March. Western states hope
it will replace two rival administrations that have competed for power
in Libya since 2014, and unite the armed brigades that supported them to
take on Islamic State.
The new government has
moved to establish itself in western Libya with the backing of key
brigades from Misrata, which gained power due to its central role in the
uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The
new government's operations room says it is preparing an offensive to
recapture Sirte, which has been controlled by Islamic State since last
year.
The unity government has so far struggled to
win formal backing from factions in eastern Libya, however, where
military forces also say they are preparing for an offensive against
Sirte.
Islamic State controls a strip of coast
about 250 km (155 miles) long around Sirte but it has struggled to hold
ground elsewhere in the country.
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