Rebels say they control Gaddafi's hometown

A Libyan rebel spokesman says Moamar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte has been captured by rebel forces, as pro-government soldiers continue to be pounded by Western air strikes.

Celebratory gunfire erupted and car horns sounded in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi as news of the rebel statement about Sirte spread.

"It's confirmed Sirte has fallen into pro-democracy hands," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said.

He said the rebels had not faced much resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces, though no independent verification was immediately available.

Emboldened by the help of the air strikes, the rebels have rapidly reversed military losses in their five-week insurgency and regained control of all the main oil terminals in eastern Libya, as far as the town of Bin Jawad.

As NATO officially took full command of military operations in Libya from a US-led coalition, the ramshackle rebel army pushed west to retake a series of towns from pro-Gaddafi forces.

Reporters in Sirte - Mr Gaddafi's hometown and an important military base - heard at least nine blasts on Sunday night (local time). It was unclear if they were in the town or its outskirts.

A Reuters reporter also saw a convoy of 20 military vehicles, including truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns, leaving Sirte and moving west towards Tripoli, along with dozens of civilian cars carrying families and stuffed with personal belongings.

The advance along Libya's Mediterranean coast by a poorly armed and uncoordinated force of volunteer rebels suggested Western strikes under a UN no-fly zone were shifting the battlefield dynamics dramatically, at least in the east.

The rebels are now back in control of the main oil terminals in the east - Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega, Zueitina and Tobruk - while Mr Gaddafi appears to be retrenching in the west.

Last week the rebels' position looked grim as pro-regime forces retained control of several strategic towns and cities along the country's vital coastal road.

But days of Western-led bombings finally appear to be taking their toll on government forces.

With the Libyan air force knocked out of the sky, tanks and other heavy weaponry have become priority targets on the ground.

Mohammed, a senior rebel spokesman in the town of Misrata, told the BBC Mr Gaddafi's forces there were now encircled after being hit hard by international air strikes over the past four nights.

"They have bombed his forces and they have bombed his supply lines. They have destroyed two convoys coming from Sirte towards Misrata," he said.

"They have destroyed one convoy coming from the west so we are getting much-needed and much-appreciated and great, great help from the international forces and the international community."

Overnight NATO ambassadors overcame objections from Turkey and France after days of tense talks and formally agreed to take control of the military campaign.

Envoys from NATO's 28 member states have endorsed a three-month plan including rules of engagement strictly limiting the use of ground strikes to protect civilians and populated areas.

The plan also does not call for NATO to intervene in support of the armed rebellion against Mr Gaddafi.