Sirte residents say IS has seized university in the central Libyan city

Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State have seized the university in the central Libyan city of Sirte, residents said on Thursday, days after a video showed them staging a convoy parade.

On Monday, Egyptian planes struck suspected Islamic State targets in eastern Libya, after the group released a video showing the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Sirte.

On Wednesday, Egypt and the official Libyan government asked the United Nations Security Council to lift an arms embargo and help build up the army to tackle the jihadists.

Residents of Sirte reported that the group had taken control of the university, hanging its flag at the entrance. Two days ago, residents said, IS had taken control of the city's administrative complex and expelled all employees. 

Residents said the militants had also taken over a radio station and other government buildings. A video on social media showed a convoy of vehicles flying Islamic State flags apparently driving through the city.

Sirte, birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been a stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, an Islamist group blamed by the United States for a 2012 assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi which killed the ambassador.

The unofficial government controlling Tripoli and parts of western Libya had sent troops to Sirte, a military source said.