Nato jets attack Gaddafi warships

One bombing run hit the main port of Tripoli, where reporters could see flames and smoke rising from a stricken warship into the night sky. Other targets were the Khoms port, between Tripoli and Misrata, and Sirte, east of the city.

In Brussels, Nato confirmed that its warplanes targeted the ports and accused Libya of using its ships in the escalating conflict, including attempts to mine the harbour in Misrata.

Rebels have been struggling to hold Misrata against repeated attacks by Gaddafi’s forces.

British Maj Gen John Lorimer said British warplanes hit two corvette warships in the Khoms harbour and “successfully targeted a facility in the dockyard constructing fast inflatable boats, which Libyan forces have used several times in their efforts to mine Misrata and attack vessels in the area.”

He said the port was “the nearest concentration of regime warships to the port of Misrata, which Col Gaddafi has repeatedly attempted to close to humanitarian shipping”.

The general manager of the Tripoli port, Mohammed Rashid, told reporters that the coastguard boats were used to patrol Libyan waters for immigrant boats trying to make it to Europe and for search-and-rescue activities.

He added that some damage was done to the port, but it was minimal. A government official later said he feared the Nato strike would discourage ships from using the Tripoli port, reducing imports and driving up the cost of basic goods for Libyans.

In a tour given to reporters at a distance from the area, a warship could be seen on fire, with flames and plumes of smoke rising the from stricken vessel.

Nato has stepped up its air strikes in Tripoli, Gaddafi’s chief stronghold, in an apparent attempt to weaken it and potentially target the leader himself. The Gaddafi family compound, Bab al-Aziziya, has been targeted several times.