Tripoli hit by heaviest bombing yet
Source: Agencies |
May 25, 2011, Wednesday
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NATO pounded Libya's capital yesterday in its most intense bombardment yet against Moammar Gadhafi's Tripoli stronghold, while a senior United States diplomat said President Barack Obama had invited the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council to open an office in Washington.
More than 20 NATO airstrikes hit in rapid succession within 30 minutes, setting off a series of explosions and sending plumes of acrid-smelling smoke from an area around Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound in the center of Tripoli.
"It is definitely, in terms of one target, the largest and most concentrated attack we have done to date," said a NATO official in Brussels.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people were killed and more than 150 wounded in the strikes that targeted what he described as buildings used by volunteer units of the Libyan army. He said the casualties were local residents.
At the Tripoli Central Hospital, the bodies of three men in their twenties lay on stretchers, their clothing ripped and their faces partially blown away.
Around 10 other men and women lay on stretchers. They appeared moderately to lightly wounded.
"We thought it was the day of judgment," said Fathallah Salem, a 45-year-old contractor who rushed his 75-year-old mother to the hospital after she suffered shock.
He said his home trembled, his mother fainted and the youngest of his seven children had screamed in terror at the sound of the explosions. "You were in the hotel and you were terrified by the shaking. Imagine what it was like for the people who live in slums," Salem told foreign reporters.
Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, stopped short of formally recognizing the rebels' council in his remarks yesterday, but said it was the credible voice of the Libyans.
"We are not talking to Gadhafi and his people. They are not talking to us. They have lost legitimacy. We are dealing with people that we consider to be legitimate and representative and credible," Feltman said in the de-facto rebel capital of Benghazi.
Rebels welcomed the diplomatic contact, but said only better weapons would help them defeat Gadhafi.
Meanwhile, Jordan said yesterday that it was also recognizing the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and would soon name a permanent envoy in Benghazi.
Several other countries, including France and Italy, have recognized the rebel administration, while the US and the EU have established a diplomatic presence in Benghazi.
More than 20 NATO airstrikes hit in rapid succession within 30 minutes, setting off a series of explosions and sending plumes of acrid-smelling smoke from an area around Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound in the center of Tripoli.
"It is definitely, in terms of one target, the largest and most concentrated attack we have done to date," said a NATO official in Brussels.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people were killed and more than 150 wounded in the strikes that targeted what he described as buildings used by volunteer units of the Libyan army. He said the casualties were local residents.
At the Tripoli Central Hospital, the bodies of three men in their twenties lay on stretchers, their clothing ripped and their faces partially blown away.
Around 10 other men and women lay on stretchers. They appeared moderately to lightly wounded.
"We thought it was the day of judgment," said Fathallah Salem, a 45-year-old contractor who rushed his 75-year-old mother to the hospital after she suffered shock.
He said his home trembled, his mother fainted and the youngest of his seven children had screamed in terror at the sound of the explosions. "You were in the hotel and you were terrified by the shaking. Imagine what it was like for the people who live in slums," Salem told foreign reporters.
Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, stopped short of formally recognizing the rebels' council in his remarks yesterday, but said it was the credible voice of the Libyans.
"We are not talking to Gadhafi and his people. They are not talking to us. They have lost legitimacy. We are dealing with people that we consider to be legitimate and representative and credible," Feltman said in the de-facto rebel capital of Benghazi.
Rebels welcomed the diplomatic contact, but said only better weapons would help them defeat Gadhafi.
Meanwhile, Jordan said yesterday that it was also recognizing the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and would soon name a permanent envoy in Benghazi.
Several other countries, including France and Italy, have recognized the rebel administration, while the US and the EU have established a diplomatic presence in Benghazi.
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