A mass grave of 18 people has been discovered in Libya, the government names the Islamic State as being involved.

A mass grave of 18 people has been discovered in Libya, the government names the Islamic State as being involved.

On Sunday, the Libyan government said they had discovered 18 bodies of people buried in a mass grave in the central coastal city of Sirte. The city is a former stronghold of the Islamic State group in the conflict-ridden North African nation. The Missing Persons Authority said in its statement that the bodies were exhumed in the Sabaa area, before being taken to the Ibn Sina hospital in Sirte. Sirte, the birthplace of longtime Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, fell under the control of Islamic State militants between 2015 and 2016. The militants, along with al-Qaida, found a foothold in oil-rich Libya amid the chaos that engulfed the country after the 2011 uprising and NATO's intervention in the conflict.