MISRATA: Daesh militants briefly entered the center of the western Libyan city of Sabratha during overnight clashes with local military brigades before retreating, local authorities said on Wednesday. Militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a lack of central authority to establish a presence in Libya, with fighters loyal to Daesh seizing control in Sirte and staging attacks in several other cities.

The fighting in Sabratha started when local brigades — formerly among the many rebel groups that joined in an uprising that overthrew former leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 — attacked suspected Daesh hideouts 15 km (9 miles) south of the city, Sabratha’s municipal council said in a statement.

It said the militants then “took advantage of the security vacuum downtown and spread out all over the city” before forced out by the brigades.

Sabratha’s mayor said late on Tuesday at least four brigade fighters had been killed and five injured in the clashes.

Local media reported that as many as 17 brigade members were killed, but no officials could be reached to confirm the toll.

Meanwhile, a newspaper Le Monde reported on Wednesday that French special forces and intelligence commandos are engaged in covert operations against Daesh militants in Libya in conjunction with the United States and Britain.

It said President Francois Hollande had authorized “unofficial military action” by both an elite armed forces unit and the covert action service of the DGSE intelligence agency in the conflict-ridden North African state, which has two rival governments and largely ungoverned desert spaces.

What Le Monde called “France’s secret war in Libya” involved occasional targeted strikes against leaders of the ultra-radical group, prepared by discreet action on the ground, to try to slow its growth in Libya.

The Defense Ministry declined comment on the substance of Le Monde’s story but a source close to Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he had ordered an investigation into “breaches of national defense secrecy” to identify the sources of the report.

Hollande said that France was at war with Daesh after it claimed responsibility for a wave of attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national soccer stadium in Paris on Nov. 13 last year, killing 130 people.

The ministry has previously confirmed that French aircraft recently conducted reconnaissance flights over Libya, where France took a leading role in a 2011 NATO air campaign against Qaddafi.