Libyan provisional government fighters say they have captured the town of Bani Walid, one of the last remaining strongholds of loyalists to former leader Moammar Gadhafi.

National Transitional Council officials said Monday the desert town was completely free of pro-Gadhafi fighters. NTC forces had launched a new assault Sunday on Bani Walid, about 170 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tripoli.

The provisional government fighters still face resistance from Gadhafi loyalists in the coastal city of Sirte, where fighting continues for control of the ousted leader's hometown. Pro-Gadhafi fighters are hemmed into a small area of the city. National Transitional Council officials have said Sirte's capture would allow them to declare the country liberated.