NTC fights for control of Gadhafi hometown

Despite setbacks, govt forces still confident they will take Sirte

SIRTE, Libya - Libyan interim government fighters tried to relaunch their offensive on the besieged town of Sirte on Wednesday after being pushed back by die-hard Muammar Gadhafi loyalists holed up in the deposed leader's hometown.

Hundreds of National Transitional Council (NTC) troops have surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town for weeks in a chaotic struggle to snuff out the last pocket of resistance against the revolution that ended Gadhafi's 42-year rule.