Libyan National Transitional Council NTC armed forces continue fighting for the city of Sirte 091011.

A total of 17 fighters of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) were killed and another 227 injured on Friday in battles for Sirte, hometown of the fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The inability to take Sirte, the most important remaining stronghold of Qaddafi supporters, more than six weeks after the capital fell has stalled efforts by Libya's new leaders to set a timeline for elections and move forward with a transition to democracy.

For the NTC fighters, their offensive in Sirte has turned into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with snipers. More snipers were in residential buildings in the north-eastern corner of Sirte. Faraj Leshersh, an NTC fighter in that sector, said the snipers were expert at operating unseen.

Qaddafi supporters also hold the enclave of Bani Walid, where revolutionary forces have been stymied by a challenging terrain. But the transitional leadership has said it will declare liberation after Sirte's capture because that will mean it holds all of the seaports and harbors in the oil-rich Mediterranean coastal country.

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox pledged to keep up NATO airstrikes even after Sirte's fall, saying the international military action would continue as long as the remnants of the regime pose a risk to the people of Libya.