NATO Airstrike Kills Rebels

The New York Times reports:

BENGHAZI, Libya — A NATO airstrike killed 13 rebel fighters in the battle outside the pivotal oil port of Brega, the rebels said Saturday.

The deaths underscored the challenge that the Western allies and the rebels face in relying on airstrikes to push back the the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi as the two sides mix in the battle zone along the front.

Perhaps in response to the Western airstrikes, the Qaddafi forces are increasingly plunging into combat in equipment similar to what the rebels are using, mainly pickup trucks mounted with machine guns or rockets. The move makes it increasingly difficult for even the combatants to distinguish one group from the other at first sight.

“It’s a mistake,” said Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, the rebel’s main spokesman. “Nothing has changed.”

One rebel fighter who was wounded in the airstrike said a fellow rebel had fired into the air moments before the attack.

“I don’t know why,” the rebel, Ali Abdullah Abubaker, said later from a hospital in Benghazi. “Maybe he was scared.”

Seconds later, Mr. Abubaker heard the planes. “I saw something white,” he said. “There was no sound.”

His white pickup truck was set on fire, and he said three of the four other men in the car were killed. Mr. Abubaker, a college student studying political science, had burns on his face and was struck by bullets in his car that ignited in the blast.

A NATO spokesman in Brussels said the alliance was aware of the report and was investigating.

“NATO takes reports of civilian casualties very seriously,” the spokesman said. “But for us, exact details are hard to verify because we do not have reliable sources on the ground.”

The spokesman, who, according to NATO policy, asked not to be identified, added, “If someone fires at one of our aircraft, they have the right to defend themselves.”

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