Rebels, meanwhile, said they were under intense attack by Gaddafi's forces in the city of Misrata near Tripoli and an AFP reporter saw them beaten back from a frail attempt to retake the eastern key town of Ajdabiya.

Libyan state television said the capital Tripoli came under attack after dark. Loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire ripped across the night sky near Gaddafi's residence at around 1900 GMT.

Similar explosions rocked the capital on Sunday night, with coalition officials on Monday saying an administrative building in Gaddafi's fortified complex had been destroyed by a cruise missile.

Witnesses said a Libyan navy base some 10km east of the capital was also bombarded late on Monday.

A Libyan government spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, told a Tripoli news conference coalition warplanes on Monday targeted the southern town of Sebha, bastion of Gaddafi's Guededfa tribe.

AFP