BENGHAZI, Libya — Forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi launched a counter-attack on Thursday as rebels threatened the Libyan leader's grip on power by seizing important towns close to the capital.
The opposition already control major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west have also fallen, brought the tide of rebellion ever closer to the capital.
"The (pro-Gadhafi) brigade has managed to control the site but we are still trying to push it back. The clashes are still taking place at the moment," a witness told Reuters.
In the city of Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, an army unit attacked a mosque where protesters had been camping inside and in a lot outside for several days, calling for Gadhafi's ouster, a witness said. The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons and hit the mosque's minaret with anti-aircraft missiles, he said. Some of the young men among the protesters had hunting rifles.
He said there were casualties, but couldn't provide exact figures. He said a day earlier an envoy from Gadhafi had come to the city and warned protesters, "Either leave or you will see a massacre." Zawiya is a key city near an oil port and refineries.
"What is happening is horrible, those who attacked us are not the mercenaries; they are sons of our country," he said, sobbing. After the assault, thousands massed in the city's main Martyrs Square, shouting "leave, leave," in reference to Gadhafi, he said.
Al Jazeera television broadcast pictures on Thursday of what it said was a burning police station there. But a witness told Reuters the Libyan army was maintaining a heavy presence there.
The brief, grainy pictures of Az-Zawiyah were followed by footage of around 20 bodies, most with their hands tied behind their backs. The satellite station said the men had been shot for refusing to shoot protesters.
Gadhafi loyalists counterattack as rebels near capital - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com
