Attack near Brega reported to have hit tanks and killed at least 13 rebel fighters
Rebels in eastern Libya say a Nato air strike has hit their forces near the oil town of Brega. At least 13 rebel fighters were killed, according to one report.
Fighters who fled to the town of Ajdabiya said the attack, on the outskirts of Brega, involved a number of Nato bombing runs, and several tanks were destroyed.
A hospital nurse in Ajdabiya told Reuters that at least five people had died. The BBC reported that doctors in the town put the toll at 13.
"It was a Nato air strike on us. We were near our vehicles near Brega," one wounded fighter, Younes Jumaa, told Reuters. Another, Salem Mislat, said: "We were standing by our tanks and Nato fired two rockets at us. Nato are liars. They are siding with Gaddafi."
Nato said it had no immediate comment. A Nato official in Brussels, speaking anonymously, said: "Of course, we have seen the media reports and we are looking into it. But we have no boots on the ground so it is hard to clarify what happened."
Five days ago rebels said that at least 10 of their fighters had been killed by another misdirected Nato air strike in the same area.
Nato is enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya while launching raids on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in an attempt to prevent them overrunning rebel positions.