Libya forces struggle to take Gaddafi hometown

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 9 (AFP): New regime forces have suffered heavy losses in the street-by-street battle for Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte as the deposed despot's loyalists put up fierce resistance, medics said today. The fighters loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council have gradually forced back Gaddafi diehards in Sirte since launching their bid Friday to take full control of the Mediterranean city. And as they inched forward and squeezed Gaddafi loyalists into an ever tighter net, the head of the ruling National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, admitted the fight was "very vicious." "Our fighters today still have to deal with snipers in high positions," Abdel Jalil told a joint news conference in Tripoli late Saturday with visiting British Defence Secretary Liam Fox and Italian counterpart Ignazio La Russa. Medics said six NTC fighters were killed and 99 wounded Saturday, taking the toll to 23 dead and almost 330 wounded since they launched what they are calling their final assault on the Gaddafi bastion. Thousands of civilians are still trapped in the former Libyan leader's birthplace, and NTC commanders said they were pacing their advance to evacuate some of those who had not fled and to avoid losses from friendly fire. One resident, Nasser Hamid, who was fleeing with his wife, three children and niece, said his family managed sneak out in their loaded car under the cover of dark early Sunday. "Our flat was destroyed by machinegun fire. We stayed in the stairwell. The children were upset because their toys were destroyed," Hamid told. "We waited so long because the Gaddafi loyalists said if we left, they would never let us come back." His wife Salima Ali Omar said however that the forces loyal to the old regime appeared to be fighting a losing battle.