NATO strikes hit outskirts of Tripoli

Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya

NATO airstrikes rattled the Libyan capital Thursday with clusters of bombing runs believed to have targeted the outskirts of Tripoli.

At first, the intensity of the attacks suggested a return to the heavy NATO bombardment that hit military installations across the capitalon Tuesday and flattened major buildings in leader Moammar Gadhafi’s sprawling compound in the center of the city.

By nightfall Thursday, a total of 14 air attacks had been carried out, considerably fewer than Tuesday. There were eight explosions in a first series of strikes Thursday, and hours later, the sound of six more airstrikes boomed in the distance.

The bombing continued early today as three fresh strikes sent plumes of smoke over Tripoli. Their direction suggested that either Gadhafi’s compound or nearby military barracks were shelled. Government officials have not been commenting on NATO strikes.

After the strikes, pro-Gadhafi supporters fired assault rifles into the air and beeped their car horns in defiance.