A local ISIS leader in Libya has been captured, along with two of his aides, according to Tripoli-based government that is not recognised internationally.

The ISIS leader for Sabratha, Mohamed Saad al-Tajuri (also known as Abu Sulieman) was captured on Thursday, according to a Facebook post by a Libyan militia loyal to the Islamist-backed government, the Special Deterrent Force (SDF).

The SDF also claimed to have killed dozens of ISIS fighters in a gun battle.

They said al-Tajouri was sent by ISIS leaders from Sirte - a city under their control - to take control of Sabratha.

On Wedneday, ISIS stormed the city centre it and killed at least 12 SDF fighters, before they were forced to retreat by SDF, according to alarabiya.net.

ISIS has a stronghold in Libya, in part enabled by the internal conflict in the nation. The country's government fled Tripoli in mid-2014 when the Libya Dawn militia alliance overan the capital and started its own parliament.

ISIS seized Sirte, east of Tripoli, in June 2014 and have since attacked key coastal oil facilities.

Last week a US air strike near Sabratha targeted a suspected IS training camp, and killed 50 people. Included in the dead were two Serbian diplomats who had been abducted near Sirte in mid-November.