Tripoli: Government troops retreated to the outskirts of Misrata under rebel fire on Saturday and the opposition claimed victory after officials in Tripoli decided to pull back forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi following two months of laying siege to the western city.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, said the US Air Force carried out its first Predator missile strike in Libya on Saturday, but gave no details.
Libyan government officials showed evidence of an airstrike near Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli that it said caused no injuries, but it was not clear if that site was the Predator's target.
In focus: Unrest in the Middle East
Opposition forces in Misrata had held firm after being pounded by the government's heavy weapons for weeks.
For now, however, most of the city of 300,000 people was calm, with rebel forces taking over several key buildings that had been filled with government soldiers, including snipers.
In the east, Nato strikes smashed more than two dozen sedans and pick-up trucks belonging to government forces about halfway between Ajdabiya and Brega, said rebel battalion commander Col Hamid Hassy.
