Reply #74: NATO DESTROYED 15 TANKS BELONGING TO GADDAFI'S FORCES NEAR MISRA [View All]

[tabatha]

On Edit:

NATO says destroys 17 Libyan tanks at Misrata, Brega
Sat Apr 9, 2011 8:12pm GMT

BRUSSELS, April 9 (Reuters) - NATO forces destroyed 17 tanks belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Friday and early Saturday, a NATO official said on Saturday.

NATO aircraft hit 15 tanks near the western city of Misrata, where Gaddafi's forces are attacking rebels, and two south of Brega in the east of the country, he said. "Friday's operations could prove to have had the highest tempo (since NATO took command of military operations in Libya)," the official said.

The official also said NATO aircraft intercepted a MIG 23 aircraft near Benghazi on Saturday, flown by a rebel pilot, and advised him to land. "We don't know the identity of the pilot but given that he took off from Benghazi, we would presume it was an opposition pilot," he said.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7380HA20110409

Sat Apr 9, 2011 7:50pm GMT

NATO DESTROYED 15 TANKS BELONGING TO GADDAFI'S FORCES NEAR MISRATA, 2 SOUTH OF BREGA, ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY-NATO OFFICIAL
http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7380HA20110409

UPDATE 3-Libyan rebels suffer losses in Misrata
Sat Apr 9, 2011 7:13pm GMT
By Maria Golovnina

MISRATA, Libya, April 9 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels said at least eight of their fighters were killed repelling a government attack on Misrata on Saturday, but were buoyed by a series of NATO air strikes on government positions.

The last rebel bastion in western Libya, Gaddafi's forces appear bent on seizing Misrata and crucially its port, which some analysts say the veteran leader needs to control if he is to survive a prolonged conflict.

For a second straight day, government forces pounded the eastern side of Misrata with heavy artillery, a rebel who identified himself as Mustafa Abdulrahman told Reuters, with the fighting centred on the Nakl al-Theqeel road to the port.

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"I have to say that the NATO forces have changed since yesterday, we are sensing a positive change. They have bombed at least four sites held by Gaddafi's forces in Misrata," Abdulrahman told Reuters by telephone.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7380F820110409