[Updated at 4:54 p.m.] An agreement has been reached in the U.N. Security Council to release $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets to the country's fledgling rebel government, diplomats said Thursday.
[Updated at 2:13 p.m.] Gadhafi loyalists have destroyed an empty Libyan airline passenger plane parked at the international airport in Tripoli.
[Updated at 11:54 a.m.] A message purportedly from Moammar Gadhafi was aired Thursday on a loyalist radio station.
The speaker urged people not to leave Tripoli "for the rats." It further implored listeners to "Go out into the streets and fight."
CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the recording. Gadhafi has previously described his adversaries before as rats.
[Updated at 10:49 a.m.] The main source of the opposition's supplies is coming from fighters loyal to Gadhafi. As the rebels win battles, they gather up the enemy's weaponry and equipment to add to their own arsenal.
In Ras Lanuf, home to an oil refinery capable of producing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day, a long line of trucks awaited refueling. Most of the trucks had been taken from Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists and been retrofitted with heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft guns and a rocket launcher.
Ras Lanuf is about 125 miles from Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and one of the Libyan leader's last strongholds.
Gadhafi has a $1.4 million bounty on his head, but despite claims that he is holed up in an apartment complex in Tripoli, observers are skeptical because of a past rebel assertion that they knew where the Libyan leader was hiding and another announcement that they had captured his son, Saif al-Islam. Neither were accurate.
[Updated at 10:15 a.m.] There has been sporadic but intense artillery fire throughout day near Tripoli International Airport as rebels try to capture the highway connecting the airport and the capital. The airport is about 17 miles south of the capital.
[Updated at 10:09 a.m.] It is difficult to tell exactly what is happening on the ground because while there are legitimate firefights taking place, there is also plenty of celebratory gunfire, including from the rebels' large-caliber, anti-aircraft guns.
CNN's Dan Rivers, however, said there was a fierce firefight in one corner of Moammar Gadhafi's compound about two hours ago.
[Updated 10:02 a.m.] Smoke can be seen rising from Bab al-Aziziya, the Libyan leader's compound.
[Posted at 9:46 a.m.] Rebels say they believe Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is at an apartment complex near his compound in Tripoli, a rebel commander said Thursday.
The commander told CNN that more troops have been dispatched to surround the building.
Rebels say they believe the leader of more than four decades may be holed up with some of his sons.
CNN has not been able to confirm the rebels' claim independently. Rebels have made many bold statements in recent days, some of which haven't turned out to be true.
The rebels did not explain why they believe it is Gadhafi inside the apartment buildings, where Reuters reports rebels are trading gunfire with the leader's loyalists.
"They are together. They are in a small hole," one of the fighters involved in the battle, Muhammad Gomaa, told Reuters. "Today we finish. Today we will end that."
You're an idiot.
all these yrs of fightx and killx has neva been a betta solutn 2 de world problems; war has neva led to pis, so y de fyt
Well put.
And typing out gibberish does not help folks understand your view point. To all of the ranters, haters, yokels and bombastic blow hards who seem to have left the educational system after graduating from 3rd Grade...learn to spell, learn to construct sentences in English, and for Gods sake speak in a calm, clear and reasonable voice.
It works wonders. It truly does.
Ur nt tx'n here. 🙂
Change your name to "The Bowels"
as you seem to be having a movement.
Oh the brilliant minds on here, that equally pathetic to all the countries and people they are naming. Pathetic.
That ... didn't come out right.
lol... so many words... so many ways to screw up a sentence.
What?
Liberals are pathetic!
Virtualgd, if that's true then you're a true liberal.
Charles K. – You know nothing about me and your opinion means nothing! I would rather be known as a Bush supporter than a libtard any day of the week.
Aren't Bush supporters retards though?
@SayBush: that's an insult to retards everywhere.
Not all retarded people are Bush followers but all Bush followers are retarded.
@barabbas2001 I sincerely apologize. You're absolutely right.
VirtualGD... I'm sure that you have a litany of Koch-inspired trivia that bolsters your view that GW Bush was a worthy POTUS. I'm certain that you're adequately armed with inflammatory and provocative remarks about "libtards." You remind me of my uncle – he has committed himself to fly the American flag upside down until Obama leaves office. The funny thing is... the more you say things like "libtard" – the more it brands you (and people of your ilk) as people who have nothing better to do than hurl insults. You have nothing new to say; nothing constructive at any rate. As the rest of us roll our sleeves up to clean up the mess that your hero left behind, the less relevant you become.
Thank god for liberals, this planet is screwed without them.
Respect your elders .... and former presidents.
Celebratory gunfire. A signal of undisciplined fighters wasting ammunition it could desperately need.
On the other side are trained fighters, government and mercenary. Just waiting for the poorly organized or unorganized, and undisciplined to fall defenseless into their hands.
It ain't over til its over.
Dont you know its not war crimes when we do it?
Children who are illegal immigrants in the USA go to public schools paid for by the USA taxpayer.
Hey, stay on topic, dumb$#it!
Maybe someday one of the "illegal" immigrants will grow up to become a doctor and cure whatever disease seems to have prevented you from growing into a good human being.
I'm with you man. Close the public schools – that'll take care of the problem.
What? What school did you not attend?
Gaddhafi is an evil man but the bloodthirstiness and casual humor/sarcasm in many of these posts is disturbing. Citizens of our country, unlike Libya, have not had to deal with civil war (since the 19th century), widespread bloodshed and deprivation like the Libyans have had. I wonder if we would handle that kind of cataclysm as well(?) as they have. I believe the next few years are going to be as difficult for us in the US as anything since the 1930s. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."
Now hold on there just a second. Latin Lover. I have done as much as I can. Everything within my power. To rack up enormous debt, much bigger than the debt created by the previous administration. Please give me my fair dues as terrorist grande!
Idiot tea partier...
Yet every economist on the planet says debt is not the problem. Tea Party seems quite disconnected from the American people. Incredible how arrogant they are despite that. I suppose the low IQ narcissists have to congregate somewhere.
DIAF – weird isn't it, that the very people you would imagine could use some state aid (in the form of education, mental health) reject it out of hand as though it were plagues. That's the power of propaganda – make the common man believe that his interests are yours and you can move mountains. Happy slaves.
My six year old brother says that anybody using words like "Obummer"
must be five years old.
america,nato, france and other country participated in libiyan conflict may god will not enable them 2 achieve their major aims. May god help gaddafi regime and warriors.
Why don't you move into that apartment with Gadhafi? You seem to have the same mental capacity.
Your god has obviously forsaken you!!!!! Have you senn the islamic world lately?Give up Jihad is no good for Islam dummy all jihad brings is death and destruction!!!!!! Time for Gadhafi to pay the piper!!!!! pathetic!!!!
Allah obviously does not agree with you brother. Moammar Gadhafi shall die, not as a martyr as he proclaims, but like a rat who has been discovered stealing food in the house. Once we are done with killing, we will live in this house with His Praise.
there is another terrorist leader in the US – At the Crawford ranch in Texas.
Nope, sold the Ranch in Crawford.
Even his nieghbors didnt like him.
Please make sure he pays the rent before you capture him!!! Make him accountable!
try knocking on the door!
everythings is a crime in the us today no matter if its war related or not