’Jihadists’ claiming affiliation with ISIL group took over the university in the Libyan city of Sirte Thursday, leading it to suspend classes and postpone exams, a professor said.

'Jihadists' claiming affiliation with ISIL group took over the university in the Libyan city of Sirte Thursday, leading it to suspend classes and postpone exams, a professor said.

The incident came a day after dozens of gunmen paraded through the streets of the Mediterranean coastal city, 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Tripoli, in a convoy, witnesses said.

It also came as Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn), a coalition of militias that controls Libya's capital and much of the lawless country's west, said it had sent units to "restore security in the city."

Social media showed photos of hooded gunmen in pick-up trucks and 4X4 vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns, brandishing the black flag of ISIL.

Witnesses said the gunmen had also taken over the once grandiose Ouagadougou Centre in what is the hometown of the late Moamer Gaddafi, where the then dictator once organized extravagant African or Arab summits.