[ 2011-08-14 ]

NATO bombs captured Libyan tank, 'killing 4'
ZAWIYAH, Libya (AFP) - NATO warplanes mistakenly
destroyed a tank captured from Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi's forces in the western port town
of Zawiyah, killing four rebels, an AFP
photographer said on Sunday.

The tank was captured on Saturday when the rebels
launched an assault on the town, overrunning the
western sector but encountering fierce resistance
from Kadhafi's troops who took up positions in the
east, the photographer said.

Rebels on the ground said they were driving the
tank out of Zawiyah when the NATO warplanes
struck, destroying the vehicle.

The photographer saw pools of blood in front of
the tank and was told four insurgents had been
killed in the air strike.

NATO said in its daily update that its warplanes
struck two tanks in Zawiyah on Saturday, out of 13
hits around the country.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorised
NATO in March to defend Libya's civilian
population from attacks by Kadhafi's regime, which
faces a popular revolt after 42 years in power.

Under the mandate, NATO planes regularly attack
Kadhafi's military assets, including tanks,
armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, army bases
and munitions dumps.

Late Saturday, the Libyan government insisted
Zawiyah remained under regime control after the
rebels told an Arabic satellite channel they had
completely overrun the city.

Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told reporters
in Tripoli that less than 100 fighters tried to
enter the town to join up with about 50 rebels
inside Zawiyah.

"This is not an advance. This is what you call a
skirmish, what you call a suicide mission," he
said. "You have to remember we are very powerful.
Tens of thousands of volunteers are armed right
now."

In a spurt of military activity, rebels fighting
east of Tripoli said they strengthened their grip
on the town of Tuarga in a bid to create a buffer
zone between Kadhafi's forces and the city of
Misrata.

The rebels have launched numerous unsuccessful
assaults on the port, some 50 kilometres (32
miles) west of Tripoli, that they they lost to
Kadhafi's forces in March.

Source - AFP

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