NATO attacked Muammar Qaddafi’s sprawling compound in Tripoli and three other sites in pre-dawn air strikes. (Apparently, if you can loosely be defined as evil, by law your home has to be referred to as a “compound.”) The AFP is reporting that six were killed and ten wounded. On a tour of the bombed site, a Libyan official told foreign media that the casualties were civilians, but that hasn’t been confirmed. The strikes came just hours after Qaddafi appeared on state TV, the first time he has done so since Libyan officials said his son and three grandchildren were killed April 30th. Rumors were circulating that Qaddafi had died in that same attack, which loyalists described as “a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country.” Qaddafi wasn’t on Libyan state TV live — footage was shown of him meeting with tribal leaders in the rebel-held east that officials say was taken that night. NATO insists they are only focusing on targets with the capacity to harm civilians.
Air strikes have hit Tripoli repeatedly this week in an effort to weaken resistance to the rebellion. While the strikes went down in Tripoli, the opposition was celebrating success reclaiming the airport in the embattled city of Misurata and an invitation from the Brits to open their first foreign office.
Six dead in NATO-led strike on Gaddafi compound [AFP via Times of India]
NATO Jets Strike Gadhafi Compound [WSJ]
After Rebel Success in Misurata, NATO Strikes Tripoli [NYT]
