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press tv
Two loud explosions have been heard in the southern suburbs of Tripoli after NATO airstrikes on the headquarters of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the capital's port.

"There were two raids on the port and Bab al-Aziziya,” AFP quoted an unnamed Libyan official as saying early on Sunday.

In airstrikes conducted in the early hours of Friday before dawn, NATO fighter jets attacked and sank eight Libyan warships.

The military alliance later issued a statement saying that the ships were sunk in coordinated attacks on the ports of Tripoli, al-Khums, and Sirte.

NATO, in accordance with a UN mandate, is tasked with protecting the lives of civilians through the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya.

However, numerous civilians have been killed and injured during attacks by the military alliance, although NATO claims that all the targets are “military in nature.”

An attack on Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli on March 30 led to the death of one of his sons, Saif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren,

After the incident, critics said that the military alliance had exceeded the provisions of the UN resolution by attacking civilian targets.