114 killed by coalition raids against Libya
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Xinhua, March 26, 2011
The strikes on Libya by the coalition between Sunday and Wednesday have killed at least 114 people, said an official from the health ministry on Friday.
A total of 104 people were killed in Tripoli and the suburbs, while the other10 were killed in Sirte, the hometown of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, said the official at a news conference in Tripoli.
On Thursday, coalition air strikes increased over Tripoli, the capital of Libya, with warplanes targeting fuel depots and local military installations.
French warplanes destroyed an artillery battery of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces before Friday sunrise.
According to Edouard Guillaud, the chief of French general staff, the strike was conducted on Thursday overnight when the artillery was bombing Ajdabiya, a town in Libya's east, where fighting between Gaddafi's forces and the rebels are reportedly continuing.
Meanwhile, NATO was expected to take over full military command of operations against Libya from the United States "in the next few days," alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Friday, one day after the alliance decided to enforce the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya.
