NATO Warns Of Helicopter Strikes

Reuter reports:

Libyan rebels made fresh gains on the western front on Tuesday, pushing back forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi in a string of clashes that brought them closer to the capital Tripoli.

Late on Tuesday, NATO resumed bombing the Libyan capital with strikes hitting the east of the city.

A Reuters correspondent in the capital heard at least three loud explosions and saw smoke in the sky and a fire. He could hear planes flying above.

Libyan state TV said the bombings had struck military and civilian targets in Firnag, one of the biggest neighborhoods in the capital, and Ain Zara. It said there were casualties.

Insurgents tried earlier in the day to advance further in the east, aiming for the oil town of Brega in a bid to extend their control over the region, epicenter of the four-month rebellion against Gaddafi's four-decade rule.

They seized the town of Kikla, 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Tripoli, after government troops fell back, and pushed several kilometers west of their Misrata stronghold to the outskirts of government-held Zlitan, Reuters photographers said.

Pro-Gaddafi forces retreated about nine km from Kikla and rebels were setting up defensive positions there, they said.