NATO Air Strike Targets Libyan TV

A grab from Libyan state television in early June shows Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi greeting unidentified people at an unknown location.

NATO says its warplanes have bombed Libyan state TV transmitters because they were being used to incite violence and threaten civilians.

A NATO spokesman, Roland Lavoie, said the strike was conducted with precision-guided munitions.

"A few hours ago, NATO conducted a precision air strike that disabled three ground based Libyan state TV satellite-transmission dishes in Tripoli," Lavoie said. "The strike performed by NATO fighter aircraft using state of the art precision guided munitions was conducted in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 with the intend of degrading Gaddafi's use of satellite television as a means to intimidate the Libyan people and incite acts of violence against them. "

Hours after the NATO statement, Libyan television was still on air.

Libyan television said air strikes late on July 29 had hit civilian targets in Tripoli, but that assertion could not be verified.

NATO has been bombing Libyan targets since March, when it intervened under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians from Muammar Qaddafi's forces as he fought to crush an uprising against his 41-year rule.

compiled from agency reports