Hit by a Tornado

Destroyed ... Sun man Oliver Harvey stands beside a burning Gaddafi tank

 

 

THEIR last meal of pasta, tinned tomatoes and a pot of tea was laid out beside their battletank when death came from the skies.

Gaddafi's men would have heard the sonic boom of the RAF Tornado GR4s and other coalition warplanes high above the clouds at 30,000ft.

Turning tide ... map shows Libyan rebels' gains

Moments later, in a flash of blinding white light and twisted metal, the Brimstone missiles penetrated the solid steel tanks like a hot knife through butter. Mad Dog's heavy armour, which had overrun the strategic desert city of Ajdabiya and terrorised its inhabitants, was no more.
Dancing and waving his AK-47 in the air on one of the charred hulks was Man United fan Farhat Sharif.
Like thousands of other Libyans he had come to celebrate the relief of the town.
In his Red Devils baseball cap, the student, 26, yelled: "Thank you Britain for your bombs, thank you Tornados. You have saved us."

Victory ... freedom fighters clamber on top of a tank in the Libyan town of Ajdabiya

The deadly coalition air strikes delivered huge momentum to rebel forces who yesterday drove west down Libya's main coastal highway, claiming a string of key oil towns.
Sun photographer Phil Hannaford and I were among the first journalists to enter liberated Ajdabiya amid scenes of wild jubilation.

Captured ... handcuffed Gaddafi 'mercenaries' are held in the back of a pick-up truck by Libyan rebels

A large metal tea kettle was still bubbling on a grill over a fire where Gaddafi's men had been when the rebels swept in after the devastating allied bombing raids. The soldiers that could had fled in a hurry.
Truckloads of ammo were left piled high - abandoned with rations and uniforms.

Video: Rebels seize key oil towns

LIBYAN rebels continue advance west after eighth night of air strikes

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There was little doubting what made them quit this key desert city of 100,000 people - the eastern gateway to Libya's oil refineries.
At its west and east gates were graveyards of burning tanks opened up like tins of beans by the Tornados and other allied jets.

Jubilant ... Libya's ragtag rebel army celebrate as jets force Gaddafi's forces back

They lay among at least two dozen bombed-out or abandoned fighting machines, including transporters, armoured vehicles and artillery.
The coastal highway leading to the city from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi - cradle of the uprising against Libya's crazed tyrant - had contained at least 80 other smashed and blackened hulks. They were testimony to the lethal accuracy and firepower of the coalition sorties.

Gratitude ... six-year-old Abdul (in jeans) as his family returns home

The £125million Tornados travelling at 1,550mph took just 40 minutes to reach Ajdabiya from their temporary base at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy.
RAF footage yesterday (see below) of a rocket launcher firing into crowds showed it being obliterated by a Brimstone missile.

Video: Gaddafi rockets taken out

AERIAL footage of RAF tornado missiles wiping out Gaddafi rocket launcher

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In another sequence three tanks were blown up. Brit Tornados claimed three more plus three armoured vehicles in the rebel city of Misrata. It had been bombarded by Gaddafi's forces for days. The tanks we saw yesterday had been hit with pinpointed accuracy.
Often the turret had been flipped off in the explosion and flung yards into the desert. Little else close by seemed damaged - and we heard no stories of civilian injuries.

Video: Brit Top Guns blitz Gaddafi tank

BRITISH pilots fire missiles from RAF Tornado GR4 jet to take out Gaddafi tank

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The scorched corpse of a Gaddafi soldier revealed him to be a black African - most likely a recruit to his mercenary army. We witnessed six other handcuffed black Africans being driven at speed in the back of two pick-ups along the highway towards Benghazi yesterday.

Under siege ... Colonel Gaddafi

Nothing was left of those who had been inside the tanks - apart from powdery remnants amid twisted metal.
Saturday's stunning victory in Ajdabiya saw Gaddafi's forces scarper westwards. Yesterday we followed the ragtag rebel army as it sped in hot pursuit towards the dictator's birthplace of Sirte.
From there it is just 230 miles to capital Tripoli - where the monster is holed up.
Sitting on an anti-aircraft gun mounted on a 4x4 vehicle, rebel fighter Ahmed Salem, 23, yelled: "Thank you Obama, thank you Cameron. Tell Gaddafi we're coming to Tripoli. He can run but he can't hide."
The reign of terror by the tyrant's men in Ajdabiya saw civilians murdered, kidnapped and raped, according to families making their way back there yesterday.
Abdul Azziz Rage, six, and his cousin Said, three, fled to the desert when bullets ripped through their bedroom.
Clutching empty shell casings and pointing to the bullet holes at their home they screamed: "Gaddafi, Gaddafi."
Fadhil Almegrabe, 42, said as he cradled his three-day-old baby Mariam: "Gaddafi is a maniac. The bombing from British planes was a sweet sound."