Forces allied with Libya's unity government say they have recaptured the port in the jihadist stronghold of Sirte from Islamic State fighters.

They also retook a residential area in the east of the city, the main ISIL base in the North African country. The jihadists are now encircled in an area of around five square kilometres inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted president Moamer Kadhafi, would be a major setback to the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq.