West unleashes air strikes, Gadhafi defiant

West unleashes air strikes, Gadhafi defiant

TRIPOLI — European and U.S. forces unleashed warplanes and cruise missiles against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces in the biggest Western military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Libyan state television said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the Western air strikes. It also said there had been a fresh wave of strikes on Tripoli early on Sunday.

There was no way to independently verify the claims.

Libya's Al-Watyah air base, 170 km (100 miles) southwest of the capital Tripoli, was among the targets of Western air strikes overnight, a Libyan military official said.

"They tried to attack the (base's) anti-aircraft defenses," said the official, who did not want to be identified. "Some were damaged." He said there was no other damage to the base.