Explosions rock Libyan capital - Al Jazeera

Anti-aircraft fire erupts in Tripoli after day of heavy fighting between protesters and Gaddafi forces elsewhere.

Al Jazeera reports http://bit.ly/e7Cav0 that loud explosions have rocked the Libyan capital, Tripoli, for a third night as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attempt to stop any new attack from an international military coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over the country.

Gunfire and anti-aircraft fire also lit up the sky late on Monday in and around the capital, where two large explosions could be heard about 10 minutes apart shortly after 9pm, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli, said.

She said two naval bases just outside the city had reportedly been hit in the strikes.

"We could see an area of the port on fire, substantially on fire, two big blazes. We saw fire engines racing along the coastal road.

"This evening seems to have been about targeting seaborne military assets of Gaddafi's army, but also we are given to understand [there was] an attack on the airport at Sirte."

Mussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, told a news conference that coalition bombardment had killed civilians in port areas and at Sirte airport, and bombarded the southern town of Sebha, a bastion of Gaddafi's Guededfa tribe.
Our correspondent said it was difficult to immediately confirm the government claims.