US continues support of NATO operations in Libya

A U.S. military fighter jet destroyed two of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's surface-to-air missile sites near the Libyan capital of Tripoli April 18, continuing U.S. support of NATO operations there, officials reported.

Since NATO took the lead of multilateral operations in Libya on April 1, U.S. military aircraft have flown more than 800 sorties in support of Operation Unified Protector.

More than 150 of those sorties have been "suppression of enemy air defense missions,eight of which included ordnance drops, officials said.

The tempo of NATO operations in Libya remains high,alliance spokesman Oana Lungescu told reporters April 19, from NATO headquarters in Belgium. Allied aircraft have flown more than 2,800 missions, about half of which were airstrikes on Colonel Gadhafi's forces and facilities.

"We are keeping up the pressure on the Gadhafi regime forces to stop their brutal onslaught against civilians," Ms. Lungescu said. "It's a challenging task, but we are making significant progress in weakening Gadhafi's ability to use his military machine against his own people."

NATO takes control on Libya no-fly zone

NATO has agreed to take control of enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya to thwart the forces of leader Moamer Kadhafi, as coalition air strikes targeted Tripoli for the sixth straight day.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that after lengthy negotiations the 28-member alliance reached a deal to enforce the no-fly zone.

"We are taking action as part of a broad international effort to protect civilians against the Kadhafi regime," he said.

Rasmussen said the NATO operation was limited to enforcing the no-fly zone, but a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity later in Washington, said that NATO reached a "political agreement" to also command all other operations aimed at protecting civilians -- meaning strikes against Kadhafi's ground forces.

The news came as anti-aircraft fire raked the Tripoli skies late Thursday, with at least three explosions shaking the capital and its eastern suburb of Tajura, AFP journalists reported.

At least one blast was heard from the centre of the city, while others came from Tajura, home to military bases, an AFP journalist reported.

Libyan state television said that "civilian and military sites in Tripoli and Tajura" had come under fire from "long-range missiles."

NATO, Russia missile systems to stay separate: NATO

NATO wants to cooperate with Russia on a missile defence shield for Europe but the two sides should keep their systems separate, the Western alliance's chief said ahead of a meeting of military brass.

The former Cold War foes agreed at a landmark summit in Lisbon last November to explore the possibility of cooperating in the European missile defence system, but left the complex details of how it would work for later.

"For the first time NATO nations and Russia will be cooperating to defend themselves," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a video blog.