NATO airstrikes flatten Gaddafi complex buildings

NATO launched airstrikes at the centre of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafis seat of power.

NATO launched airstrikes at the centre of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafis seat of power early Monday,unleashing guided bombs that destroyed a multistorey library and office in his compound and badly damaged a reception hall for visiting dignitaries.

Gaddafis whereabouts at the time of the attack on his sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound were unclear. He is well. He is healthy. He is in high spirits, said Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim,who said that officials considered the airstrike an attempt on Gaddafis life and an act of terrorism.

Firefighters were still working to extinguish flames in part of a ruined building a few hours after the attack,when foreign journalists were brought to the scene in Tripoli. A Libyan press official,who asked not to be identified,said 45 people were hurt in the strike,15 of them seriously,and some were still missing. That could not be independently confirmed.

Gaddafis son Seif al-Islam said the Libyan government would not be cowed by attacks. The bombing which targeted Muammar Gaddafis office today… will only scare children. Its impossible that it will make us afraid or give up or raise the white flag, he was quoted as saying by the Jana state news agency. You,NATO,are waging a losing battle because you are backed by traitors and spies.