A number of Libyan fighters who were wounded battling ISIS militants near Sabratha will be brought to Malta for medical treatment.

The group, consisting of around ten men, was flown from the western Libyan city to Mitiga. They are expected to be flown to Malta after the government accepted a request for assistance but it is understood that they are still waiting for clearance from the Libyan authorities.

They will be treated at Mater Dei Hospital and St James Hospital in Sliema. This is not the first time Malta has taken in injured Libyan fighters but it is the time it has helped Libyans wounded in the fight against ISIS. 

Sabratha was taken over briefly by ISIS militants last week. Around 12 members of the local security forces were beheaded while others died in the ensuing clashes.

ISIS has taken advantage of the political turmoil in Libya and established a strong foothold in the country. It is believed that many ISIS members are Tunisian.

The Libya Herald yesterday reported that there were more deaths in a hunt in and around Sabratha for ISIS members. It said an unknown number of suspected terrorists were reportedly cornered and killed.

“Among the bodies pictured on social media was one said to resemble closely Noureddine Chouchane, the Tunisian, also known as Sabir, who the Pentagon said was the prime target of their air strike a week ago. The dead man is shown wearing ammunition pouch webbing and the long black top and foreshortened trousers favoured by IS in Sirte,” the news portal said.

Yesterday morning three armed locals died when a house in the Masalama part of Sabratha was stormed. “Seven male occupants of the building were killed along with three women while two men and two women were arrested.  Caches of weapons and explosive were said to have been found inside.  Zuwara hospital has reported that it has admitted 13 injured from Sabratha but has not said if they are locals or IS.”

Libya Herald said the hunt for ISIS terrorists, which had been denied by town mayor Hussein Dawadi and the Tripoli authorities, appeared to have been intensified on Friday.