TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya’s government accused NATO on Monday of trying to assassinate Moammar Gadhafi after the coalition sent at least two large guided bombs into the sprawling office, residential and military complex where he lives in the heart of Tripoli, destroying offices and a library used by the Libyan leader.
In a statement, the alliance described the attack, in the early hours of Monday, as a “precision strike” on a communications headquarters “that was used to coordinate attacks against civilians.” Libyan officials said it was an attempt to assassinate Gadhafi.
“We are regarding it as an attempt to assassinate the leader and unifying figure of this country and other political leaders of this country,” government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said in a news conference in front of the ruined buildings Monday, describing it an act “worthy of the mafia, of gangs, but not of governments.”
“How is this act of terrorism protecting civilians in Libya? How is this act of terrorism helping establish peace in Libya?” he asked. “Targeting political leaders will only help make the situation worse.”
It appeared doubtful that Gadhafi would have frequented such an obvious target, given the threat from NATO warplanes.
In any case, he is believed to have built an underground bunker complex at his residence. He has rarely been seen in public since coalition airstrikes began on March 19, two days after a U.N. Security Council resolution authorized military intervention against the Gadhafi regime to protect civilians.
Ibrahim said Gadhafi was working as usual from a safe place in Tripoli, was very healthy and “in high spirits.”
The Obama administration denied that the strike was specifically intended to kill Gadhafi himself. White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked about the attacks in central Tripoli, said it was not U.S. policy to bring regime change to Libya.
“The goal of the mission is clear: protect the civilian population, enforce the no-fly zone, enforce the arms embargo,” Carney told reporters in Washington.
While it up to NATO to select targets for airstrikes, he said, it is “certainly not the policy of the coalition, of this administration to decapitate, if you will, or to effect regime change in Libya by force.”
A separate airstrike elsewhere in Tripoli targeted Libyan TV and temporarily knocked it off the air, a government spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
Also Monday, Italy said its military will join in strategic bombing raids in Libya.
About 130 miles east of the capital, the rebel-held port city of Misrata came under heavy shelling Monday for the third day in a row from Gadhafi loyalist forces camped out on the southern and southwestern outskirts, said Mohamed Ali, a rebel spokesman. By 5 p.m. local time, he said, at least 12 people had been killed and more than 22 injured in the latest barrages, which began overnight.
Gadhafi’s forces have intensified their shelling and rocketing of Misrata in the three days since the government said it was lifting the siege. As a result, the death toll has been climbing at one of its highest rates since the battle for Misrata began two months ago.
Also on Monday, the first shipment of food aid from U.S. farms bound for Libya arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, U.S. officials said. The aid will be stored inside and outside Libya by the World Food Program, for use if the situation deteriorates, officials said.
“There’s concern the food-supply chain will start breaking down” if Libyan troops continue attacking rebel-held towns, Mark Bartolini, director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, told reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
