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NATO warplanes struck Tripoli early Tuesday in the heaviest bombing of the Libyan capital in weeks, while rebels claimed gains amid an uptick of fighting on a long-deadlocked front line in the country’s east.
NATO struck at least four sites in Tripoli, setting off crackling explosions that thundered through the city overnight. One strike hit a building that locals said was used by a military intelligence agency. Another targeted a government building that officials said was sometimes used by parliament members.
It was not immediately clear what the other two strikes hit, but one of them sent plumes of smoke that appeared to come from the sprawling compound housing members of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s family. Between explosions, an aircraft dropped burning flares. Some residents responded by raking the sky with gunfire and beeping their horns. The two sides have been locked in a standoff, with the rebels controlling most of eastern Libya, and Gadhafi most of the west, including the capital, Tripoli. Exceptions in the west include pockets of embattled rebel-held towns along the border with Tunisia, and Misrata on the coast.
The intensified air campaign comes as NATO has faced criticism for not doing enough to break Gadhafi’s grip. “We have succeeded in taking out a significant part of Gadhafi’s military, we have significantly degraded his war machine,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday during a visit to Atlanta.
“So far our operation has been a success but there’s still work to do.” NATO said its warplanes on Sunday targeted three command and control centers near Tripoli. Fifteen ammunition stores were hit in the vicinity of Mizdah, as were one tank and a command center near Misrata.
NATO struck at least four sites in Tripoli, setting off crackling explosions that thundered through the city overnight. One strike hit a building that locals said was used by a military intelligence agency. Another targeted a government building that officials said was sometimes used by parliament members.
It was not immediately clear what the other two strikes hit, but one of them sent plumes of smoke that appeared to come from the sprawling compound housing members of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s family. Between explosions, an aircraft dropped burning flares. Some residents responded by raking the sky with gunfire and beeping their horns. The two sides have been locked in a standoff, with the rebels controlling most of eastern Libya, and Gadhafi most of the west, including the capital, Tripoli. Exceptions in the west include pockets of embattled rebel-held towns along the border with Tunisia, and Misrata on the coast.
The intensified air campaign comes as NATO has faced criticism for not doing enough to break Gadhafi’s grip. “We have succeeded in taking out a significant part of Gadhafi’s military, we have significantly degraded his war machine,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday during a visit to Atlanta.
“So far our operation has been a success but there’s still work to do.” NATO said its warplanes on Sunday targeted three command and control centers near Tripoli. Fifteen ammunition stores were hit in the vicinity of Mizdah, as were one tank and a command center near Misrata.
