A US war plane crash landed in Libya as coalition forces hit several defence targets across Tripoli today but there was no let up by Muammar Gaddafi's military which pounded rebel-held towns of Misurata and Ajdabiya.
A US Air Force F-15E crashed near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi overnight due to mechanical failure. The US military said both crew members ejected and are now safe, adding that the crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire.
Fighting between Gaddafi's forces and the rebels continued with government troops shelling Misurata, intensifying their siege of the major oil refinery western city, 200 km east of the capital.
The government troops also engaged rebels in the eastern town of Ajdabiya, where heavy fighting and shelling was continuing, Al Jazeera said.
Amid indications that the 'no-fly' zone over Libya was going to be widened to cover almost 1,000 km, the allied firepower also targeted Gaddafi's stronghold of Zuwarah, Sirte, Sebha as well as Ajdabiya.
US President Barack Obama has said that the transition to the coalition against Libya would be based on conditions on the ground, but anticipated this to happen in matter of days.
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"How quickly this transfer takes place will be determined by the recommendations of our commanding officers that the mission has been completed," he said at a joint news conference with his Chilean counterpart, Sebastian Pinera, in Santiago, Chile.
As the missile and air strikes continued for the third day, a top US general claimed that the coalition forces had virtually frozen Gaddafi's advance in the key rebel city of Benghazi, handing back some momentum to the rebels, who were on the verge of being overrun just last week.
"Sky above the Libyan capital lit up with anti-aircraft fire after explosions were heard again on Monday night," BBC correspondent reported from the city.
Four children were killed while trying to flee their home in Misurata, a rebel spokesman was quoted as saying by the Arab channel.
Rebel fighters were on the retreat amid an attack by government forces in the eastern town of Ajdabiya, where fierce fighting continued.
"There's been heavy fighting and heavy shelling going on. The rebels told me there have been heavy casualties and there are a number of corpses between here and the town [of Ajdabiya] that they have been unable to reach," the Al Jazeers said.
It said the road between the eastern city of Benghazi and Ajdabiya was littered with the "burned-out wreckage of what was Gaddafi's armour and tanks," destroyed in air raids by coalition forces.