Libyan rebel fighters backed by the interim government on Thursday said they have taken over the airport in Sirte, one of the last towns held by forces loyal to fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to media reports.
The seizure comes just a few days after fighters took over the town’s port.
After an intense round of fighting on Wednesday, officials with the National Transitional Council (NTC) told Al-Jazeera television that rebels were able to take over the airport.
Sirte, the birthplace of Gadhafi, and Bani Walid are the final towns occupied by the former leader’s troops.
The assault on Sirte was made a bit easier by NATO airstrikes against strategic targets over the past week. However, fighters have had difficulty approaching the city due to snipers and artillery.
“The coastal area has been secured by the revolutionaries of the western front and the revolutionaries of the eastern front near Abu Hadi Island, which separates the revolutionaries in the western and eastern fronts,” a fighter, Walid Salim, told al-Arabiya television.
Gadhafi himself has evaded capture after the capital Tripoli and his compounds there, were seized by rebel forces in late August. Reports have emerged that he may be hiding in the desert area near the southern border with Algeria and Niger.
