AFP is quoting an army source as saying that IS launched a suicide car bomb on a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Sidra.
Bashir Boudhfira, a colonel in the army loyal to Libya's internationally recognized government, told AFP that IS militants then clashed with troops guarding the Ras Lanouf oil facility but were pushed back. Two soldiers were killed, according to Boudhfira.
IS's claims that it has taken over the Libyan town of Bin Jawad have not been commented on by anyone from Libya's authorities, Reuters is reporting.
Bin Jawad is close to the Sidra oil export terminal where witnesses say there have been clashes with IS militants and a local militia and where IS have detonated at least one suicide car bomb.
AP is quoting a spokesman for the armed group that controls most of Libya's oil fields as saying that IS's Libyan affiliate detonated two car bombs at a checkpoint near Sidra. Reports have emerged earlier today saying that IS used suicide car bombs in its assault on Sidra.
AP reports:
Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for the forces that control the majority of Libya's oil fields, says six of their fighters were killed in Monday's attacks, along with five IS fighters in the coastal port town of [Sidra].
The United States and its allies conducted 25 strikes against the IS group in Iraq on January 3, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement released today.
Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, has called the recent IS killing video featuring a male militant and a young boy with British accents, "desperate stuff."
The video shows that the IS group is "losing territory" and "increasingly losing anybody's sympathy", Cameron said, according to the BBC.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the assault by IS militants to control Libya's largest oil depot at Sidra comes amid expectation that British troops could soon be sent to Libya to help its fledgling government fight IS there.
Under the plan, up to 1,000 British troops would form part of a joint force with Italy - Libya's former colonial power - in training and advising Libyan forces. British special forces could also be engaged on the front line.
Libya's Al Wasat News also reports that a senior IS leader, Abu Hamam al-Tunisi ("the Tunisian") was killed during the clashes at Sidra in Libya today.
Libya's Al Wasat News is reporting that two guards were killed this morning in IS suicide car bombings at the Sidra oil terminal.
Al Wasat is quoting residents from Ras Lanuf some 20 kilometers away who said that they heard two very loud explosions.
Libyan social media accounts are tweeting photos claiming to show Sidra, which has been targeted by IS militants today.