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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Top Guns..1 Mad Dog..0

Blitz ... Colonel Gaddafi's military convoy is hit on the road to Benghazi
Blitz ... Colonel Gaddafi's military convoy is hit on the road to Benghazi
 
 

A TOP Gun air strike obliterates one of Colonel Gaddafi's military convoys in a ball of flame - and last night a second wave of Allied missions roared into action.

The Libyan Mad Dog's vehicles were heading to rebel stronghold Benghazi when they were smashed in their tracks.
Our pilots joined the dusk assault on Saturday and were also involved yesterday. A Brit sub again fired cruise missiles.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox admitted for the first time that targeting tyrant Gaddafi himself was "a possibility".

Under fire ... despot Gaddafi
Under fire ... despot Gaddafi
Following on from Saturday's withering first strike, our pilots and other Nato jets, backed by Cruise missile strikes, last night began pounding more air defence bases around Libya's capital Tripoli.
It came after the first round of raids obliterated "significant numbers" of the despot's fighter planes and hangars.
Loud explosions shook the city, where witnesses said the sky lit up orange. An administrative building in Gaddafi's compound there was destroyed by at least two missiles.


Explosions and heavy gunfire were also heard in Benghazi at 10pm local time, an hour after Gaddafi's regime promised a new CEASEFIRE.
Downing Street had dismissed his peace claim and vowed to continue the blitz until he complied with obligations set out in last week's UN Security Council Resolution.
A No10 spokesman said: "Everyone will recall that in recent days Colonel Gaddafi declared a ceasefire which was promptly violated."
Military chiefs last night confirmed British Armed Forces had joined another "co-ordinated strike" against Libyan Air Defence systems - with nuclear submarine HMS Triumph unleashing guided missiles for the second night running.
Evidence of Gaddafi's last defiant bid to reclaim Benghazi was visible yesterday in the charred remains of his forces' armoured weaponry.
On a road outside the town, his tanks were not just shells but had been physically torn apart by the huge force at Nato's disposal. At one point beside the tarmac lay the decapitated and upturned turret of a main battle tank - quite some distance from the vehicle's crushed and burned-out carcass. Whole lines of government tanks, cannon and armoured cars stood eerily abandoned.

Destroyed ... admin building in Gaddafi's compound is hit by missiles
Destroyed ... admin building in Gaddafi's compound is hit by missiles
The continuing Allied strikes, taking place under cover of night until all Gaddafi's air defences are destroyed, enabled Libya's rebels to drive out the despot's tanks - turning the tide in the bloody conflict.
Military chiefs yesterday hailed the first assault, the longest-lasting and longest-range British bombing mission since the 1982 Falklands War, as "very successful". The Royal Navy and the U.S. blitzed targets with 112 Tomahawk Cruise missiles. RAF Tornados pounded air bases in an eight-hour onslaught, destroying radars, control centres and large numbers of Mirage fighter jets and Russian MiGs. The attack lifted Gaddafi's siege on Benghazi.

Cheering Libyan rebels were able to surge forward, re-taking lost ground there and marching back towards other seized towns.
Military officials yesterday said missile strikes by the US and Britain hit 20 of 22 targets, causing "various levels of damage".

Air power ... Tornado roars down the runway at Marham last night
Air power ... Tornado roars down the runway at Marham last night
Albanpix.com
Meanwhile Britain's most formidable fighter jet ever seen, the Typhoon, was last night flown to an air base in Italy in readiness for its first combat mission.
Ten left 311 Squadron at RAF Coningsby, Lincs. Insiders said the jets were being prepared for the most dangerous stage of the air assaults - possibly sweeping low to take out Gaddafi's ground forces.

The Sun can reveal Hercules C130s were yesterday carrying hundreds of RAF groundstaff to the Italy base, with the number of UK forces personnel off the coast of Libya now topping 1,000.
Tornado GR4s, which led Saturday's bombing raids using Storm Shadow Cruise missiles on a 3,000- mile round trip from RAF Norfolk, were also yesterday heading for the base ahead of further strikes expected in the next 24 hours. More than 30 RAF aircraft will now join coalition forces in policing the no-fly zone that US military chief Michael Mullins yesterday said is now in place over Libya.

Ablaze ... Gaddafi tank on fire after an air strike
Ablaze ... Gaddafi tank on fire after an air strike
Action against the dictator's forces began on Saturday when French jets destroyed "a number of tanks and armoured vehicles" near Benghazi.
US-led Operation Odyssey Dawn and British-led Operation Ellamy began shortly afterwards, culminating in a series of overnight bombing raids. The Sun has learned that HMS Triumph began the British assault by unleashing Tomahawk missiles from out at sea.

Triumphant ... rebels wave flag and stand on top of burned-out tank
Triumphant ... rebels wave flag and stand on top of burned-out tank
At least four RAF Tornados then flew in to rain bombs on Gaddafi's air sites, joining US fighter planes, B-2 Stealth bombers and at least 12 warplanes. The 1,400mph aircraft took off in pairs from RAF Marham, Norfolk, on Saturday night and returned safely yesterday.
RAF spy planes are now engaged in a huge operation to map every square mile of Northern Libya, where Gaddafi's forces are hiding. An astonishing array of British surveillance planes - Sentinel, AWACs and Nimrods - were last night working with US drones, some flying above 50,000ft and others just a few thousand feet over Libya.

Knocked out ... Gaddafi's armour takes hit as rebel fighter watches
Knocked out ... Gaddafi's armour takes hit as rebel fighter watches
Middle Eastern leaders yesterday backed international forces seeking to protect Libyan civilians, as Gaddafi said his country would become hell for the "monsters" attacking it.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Al Thani said the Emirate will join the US, UK, Canada, France and Italy against Libya - making it the first Arab country to commit military forces. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday that Arab participation in Paris talks was "extraordinarily important" and added that more can be expected from Middle East states.

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Defence Secretary Liam Fox yesterday confirmed British Typhoon and Tornado jets were flying to Italy to carry out further bombing raids and police the no-fly zone.
He said: "Our capable and adaptable armed forces are once again displaying their courage and professionalism. This action has provided a strong signal - the international community will not stand by while the Libyan people suffer under the Gaddafi regime." Chancellor George Osborne insisted the bombing raids had already helped to save the lives of civilians.
He said: "Colonel Gaddafi was making an attempt to occupy Benghazi and we have pushed him out. We've already had some effect."
Libyan officials claimed 64 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the air raids - as Gaddafi insisted the strikes against him amounted to "terrorism".
Rebel leaders, fighting a month-old uprising to end crazed Gaddafi's 41 years in power, said last night that more than 8,000 of their number had been killed.
 

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