Gaddafi Strongholds Bombed As Hunt Goes On

Nato has bombed Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's strongholds - as opposition fighters strengthen their grip on the Libyan capital by moving their political base there.

Warplanes targeted parts of the capital where Gaddafi loyalists remain as the search for the 69-year-old intensifies.

British Tornado jets fired cruise missiles overnight at a headquarters in the leader's home town of Sirte.

Rumours of Col Gaddafi's whereabouts continue to swirl among opposition fighters, who spent hours laying siege to a Tripoli apartment block in which he was thought to be hiding.

The leader's troops this morning staged a counter-attack against rebel forces at Tripoli's Rixos hotel, where a number of foreign journalists have been staying, and around his compound.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay, reporting from the area, said: "The government is showing it's prepared to lead attacks against the rebel unit."

There are also reports that Gaddafi troops have bombarded Tripoli's airport, damaging a plane.

The anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council is now being run from the capital, having moved its headquarters there from Benghazi in the east.

It came as the US and South Africa reached a deal to release \$1.5bn (£920m) in frozen Libyan assets for humanitarian aid and other civilian needs.

Col Gaddafi has used an audio message on a pro-regime TV station to urge his supporters to rise up.

"Do not leave Tripoli to those rats, kill them, defeat them quickly," he said. "The enemy is delusional, Nato is retreating."

His continued defiance came as attempts to end the conflict were frustrated by ongoing resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.

Pockets of pro-regime fighters remain in Tripoli, where rebels have discovered a large ammunition dump in a wooded area around the Rixos Hotel.

And having stormed into the capital on Sunday night and taken over Col Gaddafi's compound on Tuesday, opposition forces are now set to encounter some of their toughest battles for control as they approach Sirte, 450km (280 miles) from the capital.

While Col Gaddafi's enemies believe he is still in the capital, they fear he could flee through long-prepared escape routes, using tunnels and bunkers, to rally an insurgency.

In a southern district close to the notorious prison of Abu Salim, rebel forces are continuing a concerted assault, sweeping from house to house and taking prisoners.

And the rebels' Colonel Hisham Buhagiar said they were targeting several areas in their hunt for Col Gaddafi.

"We are sending special forces every day to hunt down Gaddafi," he said.

"We have one unit that does intelligence and other units that hunt him down."

The UN has called for restraint on both sides amid reports of abuses. A spokesman said reports of summary killings and torture were currently difficult to verify, but would be investigated.

He said: "We urge all those in positions of authority in Libya, including field commanders, to take active steps to ensure that no crimes, or acts of revenge, are committed."

Agreements to unfreeze Libyan assets were made as the international face of the NTC, Mahmoud Jibril, warned that stability and security are at risk if rebel salaries, unpaid for four months, are not delivered.

Among the other urgent priorities are collecting weapons, rebuilding a justice system and national army, providing care to the wounded in Libya and abroad, and rebuilding power stations.

Sky's Ian Woods, in Tripoli, said further humanitarian aid was expected to arrive in Tripoli by sea on Friday - although there are questions about whether the supplies will get through to where they are needed, as there are no staff in the harbour to unload them.