Rebels on Sunday routed forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi out of the key eastern oil town of Ras Lanuf and were pursuing them further west, Agence France Presse correspondents reported.

"The town is entirely in rebel hands. They are manning checkpoints in and out of the city and are pursuing Gadhafi forces west," one of the correspondents said.

A delegation from Syrian intelligence services was recently dispatched to Tripoli to scrub the Libyan intelligence archives clean of all the records detailing past projects that the two countries had collaborated on, the ‘Weekly Standard’ U.S. magazine reported.

It said one Arabic-language website claimed that former Syrian vice president Abdel-Halim Khaddam was involved in the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, the Iranian-born Lebanese cleric who went missing in Libya in 1978.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday the international mission in Libya was clear and focused and succeeding and had saved countless innocents from a "bloodbath" threatened by Moammar Gadhafi.

Under increasing pressure to explain his strategy to Americans, Obama gave his most detailed review of the conflict so far, and insisted American national interests were behind his decision to order U.S. forces into U.N.-mandated combat.

A French fighter jet destroyed a Gadhafi regime warplane on Thursday, apparently as it was landing in the Libyan city of Misrata, a U.S. official said.

If confirmed, the incident would be the first shoot-down of a Libyan fighter since Western powers launched missiles and air strikes Saturday under a U.N. resolution approving a "no-fly" zone aimed at shielding civilians from attacks by forces loyal to strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The international coalition carried out an intensive air raid overnight on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's southern stronghold of Sebha, a local resident told Agence France Presse Thursday.

Sebha, about 750 kilometers south of Tripoli, is bastion of Gadhafi's Guededfa tribe and home to an important military base.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday that coalition airstrikes against Libya had been a "success" and would continue.

France's defense minister, meanwhile, said intercepted communications showed that some forces under Moammar Gadhafi are wavering in their support of the Libyan leader.

NATO will not take "political leadership" of the international coalition in Libya but will have a planning and operational role to enforce a U.N.-backed no-fly zone, the French foreign minister said Wednesday.

"NATO will intervene as a tool for planning and operational action" in applying the no-fly zone provided for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, Alain Juppe said at a press conference.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Tuesday for the creation of a special committee of foreign ministers from coalition countries to oversee operations in Libya.

"On the initiative of the President of the Republic, I have proposed to our British colleagues, who are in agreement, to set up a special body to oversee the operation," Juppe said, referring to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Oil prices hovered above $102 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders mulled how long Libyan oil exports will remain shut down amid a third night of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 14 cents to $102.19 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract, which expires Tuesday, rose $1.26 to settle at $102.33 on Monday.

Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night Monday, targeting the air defenses and forces of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week.

But the rebellion's more organized military units still were not ready, and the opposition disarray underscored U.S. warnings that a long stalemate could emerge.