After initial successes, a senior military figure says, the fighting went into areas where the risk of civilian casualties was too high. Other Misratan fighters, though, say they were simply outgunned. “Fighting Gaddafi’s people during the war was hard enough, but these Isil people are even fiercer,” said Mr Mohammed’s nephew Osama, who at one point was burying five comrades a day, including one of Mr Mohammed’s sons. “We have never seen anything like it.”