NATO AIRSTRIKES HAVE targeted the centre of Muammar Gaddafi’s seat of power early Monday, destroying a multi-storey library and office and badly damaging a reception hall for visiting dignitaries.

Gaddafi’s whereabouts at the time of the attack on the sprawling Bab al-Azizya compound were unclear. A security official at the scene said four people had sustained minor injuries.

At least two missiles struck Bab al-Azizya early this morning, and the booms could be heard miles away.

A multi-storey building that guards said served as Gaddafi’s library and office was turned into a pile of twisted metal and broken concrete slabs. Dozens of Gaddafi supporters climbed atop the ruins, raising Libya’s green flag and chanting in support of their leader.

A second building, where Gaddafi received visiting dignitaries, suffered blast damage. The main door was blown open, glass shards were scattered across the ground and picture frames were knocked down.

Just two weeks ago, Gaddafi had received an African Union delegation led by South African president Jacob Zuma in the ceremonial building, which was furnished with sofas and chandeliers. The delegation had called for an immediate cease-fire and dialogue between the rebels and the government.

The strike came after Gaddafi’s forces unleashed a barrage of shells and rockets at the besieged rebel city of Misrata, in an especially bloody weekend that left at least 32 dead and dozens wounded.

The battle for Misrata, which has claimed hundreds of lives in the past two months, has become the focal point of Libya’s armed rebellion against Gaddafi since fighting elsewhere is deadlocked.

Video of Misrata civilians being killed and wounded by Gaddafi’s heavy weapons, including Grad rockets and tank shells, have spurred calls for more forceful international intervention to stop the bloodshed in the rebel-held city.

In Brussels, a NATO spokesman said the alliance is increasingly targeting facilities linked to Gaddafi’s regime with government advances stalled on the battlefield.

“We have moved on to those command and control facilities that are used to coordinate such attacks by regime forces,” the spokesman said of the strike on Bab al-Azizya. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing regulations.

Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, struck a tone of defiance. He claimed that Gaddafi has “millions of Libyans with him” and said NATO’s mission was doom to fail.

“In history, no country has achieved victory with spies and traitors and collaborators … NATO, you are the losers,” Gaddafi’s son was quoted by the state news agency JANA.

AP