TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — NATO warplanes struck several targets in areas still loyal to fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi as revolutionary forces said they had to retreat from a key loyalist stronghold after coming under heavy fire.
The Western alliance said Sunday that it hit a tank, two armed vehicles and one multiple rocket launcher the day before near Bani Walid. Airstrikes also targeted the areas around Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte, and the towns of Waddan and Sabha in the south.
The barrages came as Gadhafi loyalists pushed back hard against an assault on Bani Walid in a sign that the battle is far from over.
An area military commander, Abdel-Razak al-Nadouri, says a large number of people entered Bani Walid but NATO asked them to pull back to allow for the airstrikes.
