Suicide bombers target offensive by state forces in Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya — Islamic State suicide bombers using an ambulance and two other vehicles targeted Libyan forces in the coastal city of Sirte on Sunday, killing at least one of them, a spokesman for militias loyal to Libya’s U.N.-brokered government said.

Islamic State took over Sirte last year, exploiting Libya’s turmoil to gain a foothold in the oil-rich country.

Some militants reportedly shaved off their beards to escape Sirte when the Misrata militiamen began advancing on the coastal city in tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns.

At the city’s main roundabout, the militiamen last week dismantled the metal frame of what some Sirte residents had dubbed the “stage of horror” — a podium used by Islamic State for public beheadings during its yearlong reign over the city.