Libyan Regime Accuses NATO of Killing 15 People in Brega

NATO came under verbal fire again on Saturday from Moammar Gadhafi's regime, which accused it of killing 15 more people in strikes on civilian sites in the eastern city of Brega, a claim promptly denied by the alliance.

Meanwhile, three powerful explosions struck the eastern Tripoli suburb of Tajura, where a number of military installations are located, and columns of smoke could be seen from the center of the capital.

It was not immediately known if the blasts were the result of an attack by NATO, which has repeatedly targeted the area in the past.

The report, which did not say when the alleged NATO attack took place, referred to a NATO "war of extermination" and "crimes against humanity" in Libya.

However, state news agency Jana said the attack was on Saturday and spoke of five more "citizens" killed a day earlier.

Following the Libyan television claim, the NATO spokesman said the alliance "did target buildings in an abandoned area of Brega. These were legitimate military targets that were hit.

"We took a long time to watch the area and make sure. Meticulous planning went into this."

As far as NATO is concerned, he said, "any people in that area at that time were legitimate military targets."

In its daily operations report, the alliance said that on Friday it had targeted 35 objectives, including military vehicles and installations, around Brega, a key refinery town some 800 kilometers east of Tripoli and 240 kilometers southwest of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Earlier this week, after NATO admitted misfires that Tripoli says caused several deaths, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called for a suspension in the campaign in the latest sign of dissent within NATO.

Alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said more civilians would die if operations were not maintained under a U.N. mandate to protect Libyans from the exactions of the government of veteran leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"NATO will continue this mission because if we stop, countless more civilians could lose their lives," Rasmussen said in a video statement on the NATO website.