U.S. strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as Libyan anti-aircraft fire lights up the sky above Tripoli


  • Missile hits Gaddafi's palace destroying the roof of one of his buildings
  • B-2 sleath bombers attack airfields, coalition planes target ground forces
  • Pentagon confirms air-defence systems effectively taken out
  • Tyrant's mobile surface-to-air missiles harder to track
  • Libya state television reports 48 dead and 150 wounded, including children
  • Gaddafi vows to fight a long war 'with unlimited patience and deep faith'
  • President Obama makes clear the U.S. reluctance to take on another war

A senior Pentagon official has said U.S. and allied attacks in Libya have been very effective in degrading Moammar Gaddafi's ability to threaten planes enforcing a no-fly zone.

The comments come as Gaddafi's Tripoli compound was hit by a likely missile. The heavily fortified palace was shown with part of the roof destroyed, as journalists were invited to view the damage. There has been suggestions bringing reporters to the scene was part of an attempt to avoid any immediate follow up missile attacks.

Navy Vice Admiral William E. Gortney told reporters that the attacks were especially effective against Libyan surface-to-air missiles that posed a threat to planes flying at medium and high altitudes.

But he stressed that mobile surface-to-air missiles were harder to eradicate through bombing.

As new elements of the bombing campaign continued today, Vice Admiral Cortney said three Air Force B-2 stealth bombers attacked an airfield, and a variety of U.S., British and French planes attacked elements of Gaddafi's ground troops in an area about 10 miles south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Tripoli

Tracer fire: Reminiscent of the scenes above Baghdad at the start of the Iraq war, Libyan ground forces fire at unseen aircraft above the capital of Tripoli

Tripoli

Explosions reported: Amid the anti-aircraft fire above the city, witneses have also reported explosions around Gaddafi's palace. However, the Pentagon has said the bombing campaign was not yet targeting Gaddafi himself

In Tripoli, anti-aircraft fire erupted around the city. Tracer rounds criss-crossed the night sky but their intended targets were not seen - and the coalition forces have not confirmed that Tripoli is a target.

Vice Admiral said the military campaign was not specifically targeting Gaddafi - but he added the U.S. was not ruling out launching additional attacks against air-defence targets and military installations.

It was not clear who had shot the apparent missile at Gaddafi's palace.

Air strikes and cruise missiles launched from U.S. and British ships continued to pound Libyan troops as operation Odyssey Dawn began with a vengeance.

Air fields and defences were wiped out in the assaults, and today no Libyan helicopters were in the air, meaning a no-fly zone is now effectively in place - at least over Benghazi, according to Adm Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

'We've had a pretty significant impact in this first 24 hours, I would say the no-fly zone we were tasked to put in place is now in place,' Mullen said in an interview.

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It begins: A vehicle explodes after a coalition missile slams into it during the first air strikes by U.S. and European forces, near Benghazi

It begins: A vehicle explodes after a coalition missile slams into it during the first air strikes by U.S. and European forces, near Benghazi

General Carter Ham, the commander of U.S. Africom who's leading the Libya operations for the U.S., said: 'We do not yet have the capability to enforce a no-fly zone throughout the country. I do anticipate that we will have aircraft over Benghazi 24/7.'

Explosions rocked Tripoli and other coastal cities, where anti-aircraft guns could be heard firing overnight.

However, the defiant dictator vowed to fight a long war 'with unlimited patience and deep faith.' State television said 48 people had died and 150 were wounded in the strikes - most of them children.

The assault is aimed at enforcing a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone in support of rebels who have seen early gains reversed by the regime's superior air power and weaponry.

The U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols to ground Libya's air force.

It begins: Vehicles, belonging to forces loyal to the Libyan leader, burn after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah

Fireball: Vehicles, belonging to forces loyal to the Libyan leader, burn after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah

Blaze: A fire in a tank, belonging to Gaddafi's forces, roars after it is hit by an air strike

Blaze: A fire in a tank, belonging to Gaddafi's forces, roars after it is hit by an air strike

A spokesman said: ‘The missiles struck more than 20 integrated air-defence systems and other defence facilities ashore. These strikes were carefully co-ordinated with our coalition partners.

‘The targets themselves were selected based on a collective assessment that the sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots or, through use by the regime, pose a direct threat to the people of Libya.

‘I want to stress that this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution and deny the Libyan regime the ability to use force against its own people.’

Rebel fighters soon arrived at the scene of the bombings

Rebel fighters soon arrived at the scene of the bombings

Carnage: People stand near the bodies of Gaddafi's soldiers on the southern outskirts of Benghazi in northeastern Libya

Carnage: People stand near the bodies of Gaddafi's soldiers on the southern outskirts of Benghazi in north eastern Libya

Support: A rebel fighter shouts 'Allahu Akbar!' (God is the greatest!) as plumes of smoke from burning vehicles fill the sky behind him
Meanwhile a rebel fighter shows official government documents found at the scene of an attack

Rebel fighters: A man celebrates while shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest!) as a huge explosion follows a direct hit. Meanwhile another shows official government documents found at the scene of an attack

French fighter jets fired the first salvos, carrying out several strikes in the rebel-held east, while British fighter jets also bombarded the North African nation.

Navy Vice Admiral William E Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters the cruise missile assault was the 'leading edge' of the coalition campaign.

He said it would take six to 12 hours to assess the damage properly, and if the main targets - Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles - were taken out, then it would be safe to send an unmanned Global Hawk surveillance drone to get a better picture of the area.

Early warning radars and unspecified communications facilities were also targeted, Gortney said. Libya's overall air defences are based on older Soviet technology but Gortney called them capable and a potential threat to allied aircraft.

Targets: Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, early warning radars and unspecified communications facilities were on the coalition's hit list

Targets: Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, early warning radars and unspecified communications facilities were on the coalition's hit list

Rejoicing: Rebels today show they are happy that coalition forces have enforced the no-fly zone

Rejoicing: Rebels today show they are happy that coalition forces have enforced the no-fly zone

Explosion: A rebel fighter looks at burning vehicles belonging to Gaddafi's forces after several air strikes by coalition forces hit the country

Explosion: A rebel fighter looks at burning vehicles belonging to Gaddafi's forces after several air strikes by coalition forces hit the country

The first missiles struck at 3pm EDT after a one-hour flight from the U.S. and British vessels on station in the Mediterranean, he added.

They were fired from five U.S. ships - the guided-missile destroyers USS Stout and USS Barry, and three submarines, USS Providence, USS Scranton and USS Florida.

The U.S. has at least 11 naval vessels in the Mediterranean, including three submarines, two destroyers, two amphibious warfare ships and the USS Mount Whitney, a command-and-control vessel that is the flagship of the Navy's 6th Fleet. Also in the area are Navy P-3 and EP-3 surveillance aircraft, officials said.

A Libyan youth standing beside a charred body holds up ammunition collected from dead Muammar Gaddafi loyalist soldiers
A Canadian pilot gestures from the cockpit of his F/A18 Hornet fighter in the air base of Trapani Birgi in the southern island of Sicily on March 21, 2011

United: A Libyan youth standing beside a charred body holds up ammunition collected from dead Gaddafi loyalist soldiers, left, while a Canadian pilot gestures from the cockpit of his F/A18 Hornet fighter in the air base of Trapani Birgi in the southern island of Sicily, right

Four tanks destroyed by the allied aerial assault continue to smoulder in al-Wyfiyah 35 km West of Benghazi

Four tanks destroyed by the allied aerial assault continue to smoulder in al-Wyfiyah 35 km West of Benghazi

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stout launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn

Attack: The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stout, left launches a Tomahawk missile in support of operation Odyssey Dawn, while a map shows the spots in Libya targeted by coalition forces

Mohammed Ali, a spokesman for the exiled opposition group the Libyan Salvation Front, said the Libyan air force headquarters at the Mateiga air base in eastern Tripoli and the Aviation Academy in Misrata had been targeted.

In Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the uprising that began on February 15, people said the international action happened just in time.

Libyan government tanks and troops had reached the edges of the city yesterday.

Libya

Night vision: A missile provides an eerie glow as night-vision lenses aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce picks up at least six exhaust trails of Tomahawk missiles on their way to Libya

In flames: A bus burns on a road leading to the outskirts of Benghazi. The U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines

In flames: A bus burns on a road leading to the outskirts of Benghazi. Gadaffi has vowed to fight on

Defiant: An elderly rebel fighter stands in front of a destroyed tank in Benghazi
A Libyan rebel smiles next to wrecked military vehicles belonging to Moammer Khaddafi forces hit by French warplanes

Defiant: An elderly rebel fighter stands in front of a destroyed tank in Benghazi, left, while another smiles while wearing broken goggles after the missile attacks

'It was a matter of minutes and Gaddafi's forces would have been in Benghazi,' said Akram Abdul Wahab, a 20-year-old butcher in the city.

In the phone call to state television, Gadhafi said he would not let up on the rebel-held city and said the government had opened up weapons depots to all Libyans, who were now armed with 'automatic weapons, mortars and bombs.'

Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it 'simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war.'

A FIGHTER JET IS SHOT DOWN OVER THE REBEL CITY OF BENGHAZI. THE STRICKEN JET FALLS HELPLESSLY TO THE GROUND, AS THE PILOT EJECTS.
A FIGHTER JET IS SHOT DOWN OVER THE REBEL CITY OF BENGHAZI

Destruction: A pilot can be seen ejecting from a stricken fighter plane, left, before it falls helplessly to the ground after being shot down over rebel city Benghazi. French forces deny that one of their planes was shot down in the assault

As the fire rained down on Libya, President Barack Obama was in Brazil on day two of a five-day Latin America visit. Speaking from a theatre in a historic Rio de Janeiro square, he insisted there would be no American ground troops in Libya.

'No one can say for certain how this change will end, but I do know that change is not something that we should fear,' he said.

'We've seen the people of Libya take a courageous stand against a regime determined to brutalise its own citizens. Across the region, we have seen young people rise up - a new generation demanding the right to determine their own future.'

Yesterday Mr Obama had made clear the U.S. reluctance to take on another war.

'This is not an outcome the U.S. or any of our partners sought,' he said. 'We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy.'

While the U.S. was leading the initial onslaught, officials made it clear that America would quickly step back into a supporting role, possibly within days, and shift command to its European and Arab partners.

Some in congress have worried that this mission could put the U.S. on a slippery slope to deeper involvement in yet another Muslim country - on top of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was 'deeply concerned' about civilians and called on all sides to distinguish between civilians and fighters and allow safe access for humanitarian organisations.

Yesterday's fighting galvanized the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make gasoline bombs. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks

Obama
Clinton

Unified voice: Both President Barack Obama in Brazil and U.S. Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton - seen at an emergency summit Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy - stressed that America was answering the call of threatened people

Trip: As the fire rained down on Libya, President Barack Obama was in Brazil with First Lady Michelle and daughters Malia, right, and Sasha, left, at the start of a five-day Latin America tour

Trip: As the fire rained down on Libya, President Barack Obama was in Brazil with First Lady Michelle and daughters Malia, right, and Sasha, left, at the start of a five-day Latin America tour

'This city is a symbol of the revolution, it's where it started and where it will end if this city falls,' said Gheriani.

The rebels said earlier that they had hoped for more, sooner from the international community, after a day when crashing shells shook the buildings of Benghazi and Gaddafi's tanks rumbled through the university campus.

'People are disappointed, they haven't seen any action yet. The leadership understands some of the difficulties with procedures but when it comes to procedures versus human lives the choice is clear,' said Essam Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition.

'People on the streets are saying where are the international forces? Is the international community waiting for the same crimes to be perpetrated on Benghazi has have been done by Gaddafi in the other cities?

As the attacks began, Libyan state TV claimed that ‘civilian’ targets in Tripoli were being bombarded by ‘planes of crusader enemies’.

It later added that the international coalition had also 'targeted ‘fuel stores’ for Misurata, which Gaddafi’s forces attacked with tanks and heavy artillery on Friday, killing more than 40 people.

It followed a day of high drama in which tanks and armoured vehicles were also destroyed in air strikes by French warplanes after pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in violation of the UN resolution.

About 20 French Rafale and Mirage warplanes were involved in the first phase of the operation. France denied that one of its aircraft had been shot down.

It was unclear if the RAF’s Typhoon and Tornado fighters had played a particular part in the Benghazi operation, although the French were quick to acknowledge the success of their own role.

‘Yes, we have destroyed a number of tanks and armoured vehicles,’ said a French official.

It was later reported that four Libyan tanks had been hit to the south-west of Benghazi.

The final decision to launch military action was taken at an emergency summit in Paris attended by world leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Along with North American and European allies, a number of Arab nations signed up to a communique pledging ‘all necessary action’ to bring an end to the ‘grave and massive violations of humanitarian law’ being committed by Gaddafi.

Countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway were sending planes while Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily and Aviano in the north to launch sorties.

Three U.S. submarines carrying Tomahawk missiles were in the Mediterranean poised to bombard Libya’s air defences and runways to enforce the no-fly zone, according to a defence official.

Meanwhile, Canada has committed six F-18 fighter jets. Spain is deploying a submarine, a frigate and a surveillance plane.

The U.S. has struck Libya before. Former President Reagan launched U.S. air strikes on Libya in 1986 after a bombing at a Berlin disco - which the U.S. blamed on Libya - that killed three people, including two American soldiers.

The air strikes killed about 100 people in Libya, including Gaddafi's young adopted daughter at his Tripoli compound.

Lockerbie bomber flees Tripoli

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was among thousands evacuated in Libya yesterday.

The 58-year-old was moved from his family home in Tripoli to a secure unit. ‘We know targets are already being worked out by the West, and Brother Al Megrahi is certain to be high on the list,’ said an impeccably placed source within Gaddafi’s regime, which views the bomber as a national hero.

The source, who helped negotiate the convicted murderer’s 2009 release from a Scottish prison, added: ‘It would make life very easy for the West if Al Megrahi was no longer a problem – we will do everything we can to protect him.’

Plain-clothes police and armed soldiers were still visible around Al Megrahi’s home in the New Damascus district of Tripoli, but neighbours confirmed he had been moved. ‘The government does not want him here – it is too dangerous,’ said one.

Hillary Clinton: The U.S. will use its 'unique capabilities’

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton vowed America would use its 'unique capabilities' to support the air missions in Libya.

Mrs Clinton, in the spotlight while President Obama is in Brazil, was speaking alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and 19 other world leaders at an emergency summit in Paris yesterday.

The world leaders and top officials agreed to do everything necessary to make Gaddafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the no-fly zone and demanding a cease-fire.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Hilary Clinton
Hilary Clinton

Warmth: Nicolas Sarkozy gives Hilary Clinton an affectionate squeeze before the emergency summit in Paris. Nineteen other world leaders and top officials, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, agreed to do everything necessary to make Gaddafi respect the U.N. Security Council resolution

President Sarkozy said the international community was acting to protect the people of Libya from ‘the murderous madness of a regime which by killing its own people has forfeited legitimacy’.

While Mr Cameron said: ‘What is absolutely clear is that Gaddafi has broken his word, broken the ceasefire and continues to slaughter his own civilians.
‘With the United Nations behind us, with the clear legality of this action and with local countries supporting us as well, it is right to act.’

The official communique released after the summit warned the Libyan dictator that the countries ‘were determined to take all necessary action, including military’ to enforce the UN no-fly zone resolution.

The statement was signed by a number of Arab nations, as well as countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway. Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily.

Speaking from Brazil, President Obama said: ‘The use of force is never our first choice. But we cannot stand idly by while a tyrant says that there will be no mercy.

‘Actions have consequences.’

Britain, the U.S., France, Canada and Italy were all launching strikes in the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 Iraq war.

Long time Libyan leader Gaddafi vowed to defend his country from what he called 'crusader aggression' and warned the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger and put civilians at risk.

Thousands of regime supporters, meanwhile, packed into the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp in Tripoli where Gadhafi lives to protect against attacks.

He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it 'simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war.'