— International air raids targeted Moammar Gaddafi’s hometown of Sert for the first time Sunday night as rebels quickly closed in on the regime stronghold, a formidable obstacle that must be overcome for government opponents to reach the capital Tripoli.
A heavy bombardment of Tripoli also began after nightfall, with at least nine loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire heard, an Associated Press reporter in the city said.
Earlier in the day, rebels regained two key oil complexes along the coastal highway that runs from the opposition-held eastern half of the country toward Sert and beyond that, to the capital. Moving quickly westward, the advance retraced their steps in the first rebel march toward the capital. But this time, the world’s most powerful air forces have eased the way by pounding Gaddafi’s military assets for the past week.
Sert is strategically located about halfway between the rebel-held east and the Gaddafi-controlled west along the Mediterranean coast. It is a bastion of support for Gaddafi that will be difficult for the rebels to overrun and the entrances to the city have reportedly been mined. If the rebels could somehow overcome Sert, momentum for a march on the capital would skyrocket.
An AP reporter at the front said the latest rebel advance during the day reached as far west as the oil port of Ras Lanouf, about 130 miles east of Sert.
After nightfall, Libyan state television confirmed air raids on Sert and Tripoli. Foreign journalists who were taken by the regime to Sert a few hours before the bombings began reported hearing at least six loud explosions and warplanes flying overheard. They were driven around the city and said it was swarming with soldiers on patrol and armed civilians, many of them wearing green bandanas that signaled their support for Gaddafi.
