Missile strike targets Libyan air defenses
Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya came under a fierce attack from a U.S.-led coalition of warplanes, ships and submarines on Saturday.
By ICEF Roderick Eubanks, AFP/Getty Images
Libyan state TV quoted the armed forces command as saying 48 people have been killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault by U.S. and European forces. Libyan TV reported that most of the casualties are children.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
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A senior U.S. defense official said it was believed Gadhafi's air defenses suffered substantial damage.
While some cautioned that it was too early for an assessment, the official said that given the precision targeting of the Navy's cruise missiles, they believed that Libya's defenses suffered a good deal of damage. The official spoke on grounds of anonymity because the mission is ongoing.
Gadhafi remains defiant
Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, said in a telephone call to Libyan state TV that he was opening weapons depots to allow his people to arm themselves in defense.
He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it "simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war." He warned that the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger.
President Obama authorized limited military action against Libya. He reiterated that he would not send American ground troops.
"We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy," Obama said Saturday from Brazil.
U.S. and British ships and submarines fired more than 110 cruise missiles at more than 20 Libyan air defense targets, Vice Adm. William Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters on Saturday. Most of those areas are in and around the capital Tripoli.
The first Tomahawk cruise missiles struck at 3 p.m. ET, Gortney said, after a one-hour flight from U.S. and British vessels in the Mediterranean.
No U.S. aircraft fired missiles or dropped bombs, Gortney said.
The British defense secretary, Liam Fox, said in a statement that Tornado GR4 fast jets flew 3,000 miles from Royal Air Force Station Marham in Norfolk, England, and back. The jets launched Stormshadow missiles, while a Trafalgar submarine launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.
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Operation Odyssey Dawn
The strike's intent, Gortney said, was to stop further attacks on civilians by forces loyal to Gadhafi and to allow for allied warplanes to safely enforce a no-fly zone in Libya.
Libyan air defenses are similar to those U.S. and coalition forces faced in Iraq during the2003 invasion, he said. They consist of older, Soviet-era technology, which still has "good capability."
"Odyssey Dawn," as the operation has been dubbed, is being led by U.S. commanders during the initial phases, Gortney said.
U.S. ships and warplanes will take the lead in the first round of attacks because of their "unique capabilities," said a senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing military operations.
The strikes are designed to prevent Gadhafi from attacking civilians, particularly those around the besieged city of Benghazi. Attacking missile defenses will allow a coalition of allied warplanes to enforce a no-fly zone. Flights will be denied in northern Libya from west of Tripoli to east of Benghazi and south to the city of Sabha.
At least 11 U.S. Navy ships and submarines are patrolling the Mediterranean off Libya and are prepared to take part in the attack. The first strikes hit targets that included defenses near Tripoli and Misratah, according to briefing slides shown to reporters at the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates delayed a trip to Russia on Saturday to remain in Washington and monitor the first phase of the attacks. The military official could not say how long the attacks would last.
"The U.S. will be at the front end of this," he said.
The American military's unique capabilities include the ability to launch cruise missiles, logistics, electronic attacks designed to thwart radar and air defense and the ability to synchronize and command attacks, he said.
Four other countries announced that they would take part in enforcing the no-fly zone. They are Great Britain, France, Canada and Italy, the official said. Other countries are expected to announce their participation in coming days, he said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
