TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO warplanes struck a command centre in Tripoli early Tuesday in the heaviest bombing of the Libyan capital in weeks, while rebels — capitalizing on other NATO air strikes — reported battlefront gains that could ease the siege of the port city of Misrata.
The NATO planes struck what the alliance called a command and control facility in downtown Tripoli, according to Italian Brig. Gen. Claudio Gabellini.
Gabellini also said 30 regime military targets have been hit since May 2 around Misrata, which has been under siege by Gadhafi’s forces for two months. The targets included 12 tanks, three self-propelled guns, three multiple-rocket-launchers, and various vehicles, Gabellini said.
In Misrata, the rebel’s only urban stronghold in western Libya, a doctor said rebel forces had pushed outward to Dafniya, a town on western outskirts.
The doctor said fighting was taking place both in Dafniya and near the airport south of Misrata.
Were the rebels able to punch through past Dafniya, it would increase the prospects of an advance through the coastal town of Zlitan and toward Tripoli itself.