NATO strikes guard towers of Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli

[News_Editor]

NATO strikes guard towers of Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli

2011-05-28 18:58:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

TRIPOLI (BNO NEWS) -- NATO aircraft on Friday evening destroyed guard towers belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's main compound in Tripoli, the multinational force said on Saturday.

The attack on the Bab al-Aziziyah compound involved a number of NATO aircraft, including British RAF Typhoons. "[NATO aircraft] last night used precision guided weapons to bring down guard towers along the walls of Colonel Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah complex in the center of Tripoli," said Britain's Chief of the Defense Staff Strategic Communications Officer, Major General John Lorimer.

It was not clear if Gaddafi was inside the compound at the time of the attack. "For decades, Colonel Gaddafi has hidden from the Libyan people behind these walls, spreading terror and crushing opposition," Lorimer said. "The massive compound has not just been his home, but is also a major military barracks and headquarters, and lies at the heart of his network of secret police and intelligence agencies."

Previous NATO attacks have hit command and control and other military facilities within the massive 6-square-kilometers (2.3 square miles) complex. On Monday, NATO aircraft also attacked a large military vehicle depot within the complex.

"Last night's action sends a powerful message to the regime's leadership and to those involved in delivering Colonel Gaddafi's attacks on civilians that that they are no longer hidden away from the Libyan people behind high walls," Lorimer added on Saturday.

Most notably, the Bab al-Aziziyah compound was the scene of a U.S. airstrike in April 1986, killing an estimated 60 Libyans. It was in response to the Libyan bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, which killed two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman.

Also on Saturday, NATO said it struck ammunition storage facilities in the vicinity of Sirte, Mizdah, and Hun on Friday. Airstrikes in Misratah targeted a rocket launcher and two truck-mounted guns, while airstrikes near Zintan targeted four surface-to-air missile launchers.

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