Play Video Reuters – Libyan rebels killed and wounded near Misrata 
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Reuters – Rebel fighters take cover in a cave at the frontline, on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Nalut, … TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan officials said on Sunday a NATO strike had hit a civilian house in the capital Tripoli, killing several residents, and NATO said it was investigating the claim, which could sow new doubts about its mission.
On another front in the four-month-old battle to force out Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a doctor in the city of Misrata said eight rebel fighters had been killed and 36 wounded in fighting with government troops.
In the early hours of Sunday, reporters were taken by Libyan government officials to a residential area in Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district where they saw a body being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed building.
Later, in a hospital, they were shown the bodies of two children and three adults who, officials said, were among a total of seven people killed in the strike.
"There was intentional and deliberate targeting of the civilian houses," deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said at the site. "This is another sign of the brutality of the West."
There was no way for reporters to verify that all the bodies they were shown came from the building.
"NATO is looking into reports of civilian casualties following NATO air strikes in the early hours of June 19," the alliance said in a statement from Naples, from where it is running the Libyan operation.
"The incident is said to have occurred in a residential area in northern Tripoli, following a deliberate strike which targeted a missile site operated by pro-Gaddafi forces.
"NATO regrets any loss of civilian lives, and is doing all it can to protect the people of Libya from the violence waged by the Gaddafi regime.
"We take all reports of civilian casualties very seriously and we will continue to look into the facts related to this event," the alliance said.
"NATO would be sorry if the review of this incident did indicate that it was caused by a NATO weapon."
CHILD'S TOY
At the scene of the destroyed building on Sunday, clothes, smashed crockery and a child's rubber duck could be seen littered around the area.
The building is in a neighborhood where security forces have in the past few weeks put down anti-Gaddafi protests.
"Why is NATO doing this to us? Why?" asked Ibrahim Ali, who said he lived on the same street as the wrecked building. "NATO is a big problem for the Libyan people. NATO doesn't have any business here, this is between the Libyan people."
Another man, who gave his name as Tony, nodded toward the remains of the building and said: "They (local people) don't like this ... But they don't like the regime either."
On at least one occasion in the past, doubts have emerged about the reliability of Libyan claims of civilian casualties.
In one case, Libyan officials presented a wounded child to foreign media as the victim of an air strike but medical staff passed a note to a foreign journalist saying she was hurt in a road accident.
If it is proved that Sunday's deaths were caused by a NATO air strike, it would be the first acknowledged incident of its kind in the campaign and could weaken the fragile resolve of some countries in the alliance.
NATO has been pounding targets in Libya for months in what it says is an operation to protect civilians who rebelled against Gaddafi's 41-year rule. The Libyan leader says it is an act of colonial aggression designed to steal oil.
Strains are appearing within NATO member states as the campaign drags on for longer than most of its backers anticipated and Gaddafi remains in power -- even making a show of defiance last week by playing chess with a visiting official.
Sunday marked three months since NATO warplanes went into action over Libya.
MISRATA CASUALTIES
Rebels from the city of Misrata, about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, have been trying to push west toward the capital but on Sunday they took heavy casualties when they came under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces.
A doctor at a field hospital near the frontline in Dafniyah, just west of Misrata, said eight fighters had been killed and 36 wounded.
A Reuters reporter at the field hospital said he saw a procession of pick-up trucks arriving from the front carrying the wounded and the dead, some of them covered with blankets.
"Gaddafi's forces were underground (in trenches). We were patrolling and they ambushed us," said rebel fighter Mohammed Swelhi, whose friend, Mustafa, was one of two bodies brought from the front in the back of a truck.
"My cousin was injured yesterday. And today my friend was killed. My group, we're all close friends," he said.
Last week, NATO aircraft dropped leaflets around the frontline warning pro-Gaddafi fighters they would be targeted by attack helicopters if they did not lay down their arms. But rebels say there has been little sign of the alliance.
"We don't know what NATO is doing," said the doctor, called Nury, who was tending the wounded at the field hospital.
CASH CRUNCH
After four months of civil war, rebels control the eastern third of Libya, the Mediterranean port city of Misrata and much of the Western Mountains stretching to the border with Tunisia.
But they remain far from seizing Gaddafi's powerbase of Tripoli and its hinterland despite air support from the world's most powerful military alliance.
Speaking in the eastern city of Benghazi, the chief rebel oil official castigated Western powers for failing to make good on their promises to help the rebel cause.
"We are running out of everything. It's a complete failure. Either they (Western nations) don't understand or they don't care. Nothing has materialized yet. And I really mean nothing," Ali Tarhouni said in an interview with Reuters.
"All of these people we talk to, all of these countries, at all these conferences, with their great grand speeches -- we appreciate (them) ... but in terms of finances they are a complete failure. Our people are dying," he said.
(Additional reporting by Matt Robinson in Misrata, Saif al-Jubouri in Tripoli, Peter Griffiths in London, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Maria Golovnina in Benghazi; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
On another front in the four-month-old battle to force out Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a doctor in the city of Misrata said eight rebel fighters had been killed and 36 wounded in fighting with government troops.
In the early hours of Sunday, reporters were taken by Libyan government officials to a residential area in Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district where they saw a body being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed building.
Later, in a hospital, they were shown the bodies of two children and three adults who, officials said, were among a total of seven people killed in the strike.
"There was intentional and deliberate targeting of the civilian houses," deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said at the site. "This is another sign of the brutality of the West."
There was no way for reporters to verify that all the bodies they were shown came from the building.
"NATO is looking into reports of civilian casualties following NATO air strikes in the early hours of June 19," the alliance said in a statement from Naples, from where it is running the Libyan operation.
"The incident is said to have occurred in a residential area in northern Tripoli, following a deliberate strike which targeted a missile site operated by pro-Gaddafi forces.
"NATO regrets any loss of civilian lives, and is doing all it can to protect the people of Libya from the violence waged by the Gaddafi regime.
"We take all reports of civilian casualties very seriously and we will continue to look into the facts related to this event," the alliance said.
"NATO would be sorry if the review of this incident did indicate that it was caused by a NATO weapon."
CHILD'S TOY
At the scene of the destroyed building on Sunday, clothes, smashed crockery and a child's rubber duck could be seen littered around the area.
The building is in a neighborhood where security forces have in the past few weeks put down anti-Gaddafi protests.
"Why is NATO doing this to us? Why?" asked Ibrahim Ali, who said he lived on the same street as the wrecked building. "NATO is a big problem for the Libyan people. NATO doesn't have any business here, this is between the Libyan people."
Another man, who gave his name as Tony, nodded toward the remains of the building and said: "They (local people) don't like this ... But they don't like the regime either."
On at least one occasion in the past, doubts have emerged about the reliability of Libyan claims of civilian casualties.
In one case, Libyan officials presented a wounded child to foreign media as the victim of an air strike but medical staff passed a note to a foreign journalist saying she was hurt in a road accident.
If it is proved that Sunday's deaths were caused by a NATO air strike, it would be the first acknowledged incident of its kind in the campaign and could weaken the fragile resolve of some countries in the alliance.
NATO has been pounding targets in Libya for months in what it says is an operation to protect civilians who rebelled against Gaddafi's 41-year rule. The Libyan leader says it is an act of colonial aggression designed to steal oil.
Strains are appearing within NATO member states as the campaign drags on for longer than most of its backers anticipated and Gaddafi remains in power -- even making a show of defiance last week by playing chess with a visiting official.
Sunday marked three months since NATO warplanes went into action over Libya.
MISRATA CASUALTIES
Rebels from the city of Misrata, about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, have been trying to push west toward the capital but on Sunday they took heavy casualties when they came under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces.
A doctor at a field hospital near the frontline in Dafniyah, just west of Misrata, said eight fighters had been killed and 36 wounded.
A Reuters reporter at the field hospital said he saw a procession of pick-up trucks arriving from the front carrying the wounded and the dead, some of them covered with blankets.
"Gaddafi's forces were underground (in trenches). We were patrolling and they ambushed us," said rebel fighter Mohammed Swelhi, whose friend, Mustafa, was one of two bodies brought from the front in the back of a truck.
"My cousin was injured yesterday. And today my friend was killed. My group, we're all close friends," he said.
Last week, NATO aircraft dropped leaflets around the frontline warning pro-Gaddafi fighters they would be targeted by attack helicopters if they did not lay down their arms. But rebels say there has been little sign of the alliance.
"We don't know what NATO is doing," said the doctor, called Nury, who was tending the wounded at the field hospital.
CASH CRUNCH
After four months of civil war, rebels control the eastern third of Libya, the Mediterranean port city of Misrata and much of the Western Mountains stretching to the border with Tunisia.
But they remain far from seizing Gaddafi's powerbase of Tripoli and its hinterland despite air support from the world's most powerful military alliance.
Speaking in the eastern city of Benghazi, the chief rebel oil official castigated Western powers for failing to make good on their promises to help the rebel cause.
"We are running out of everything. It's a complete failure. Either they (Western nations) don't understand or they don't care. Nothing has materialized yet. And I really mean nothing," Ali Tarhouni said in an interview with Reuters.
"All of these people we talk to, all of these countries, at all these conferences, with their great grand speeches -- we appreciate (them) ... but in terms of finances they are a complete failure. Our people are dying," he said.
(Additional reporting by Matt Robinson in Misrata, Saif al-Jubouri in Tripoli, Peter Griffiths in London, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Maria Golovnina in Benghazi; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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