Tripoli, Libya: NATO warplanes dashed into the Libyan capital Tripoli at midday Friday, pounding a target in the south of the city that sent a thick cloud of black smoke rising high into the air.
A series of explosions rumbled across what appeared to be other parts of the city as fighter jets could by heard flying overhead. Fire engines raced through the streets, sirens blaring.
It wasn't clear what was hit or whether there were casualties. Friday is the main day of rest in Libya, with many people off work.
NATO has been ramping up the pressure on Moammar Gadhafi's regime. Though most airstrikes happen under cover of darkness, daytime raids have grown more frequent.
Friday's raids follow a barrage that struck multiple targets late Thursday night.
The fresh strikes blasted the capital as renewed diplomatic efforts to halt Libya's civil war appeared to be gaining momentum, though there are no signs a breakthrough is imminent.
On Thursday, Russia's envoy to Libya met with senior government leaders in Tripoli, but not Gadhafi himself, in an effort to stop the fighting. Last week, the envoy Mikhail Margelov visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi and said that Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy. However, the envoy also said NATO airstrikes are not a solution to Libya's violent stalemate.
Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi said the Libyan government has held a number of "preliminary meetings" with officials based in the eastern rebel-held city of Benghazi. He said the talks took place abroad, including in Egypt, Tunisia and Norway, but he did not provide specifics.
NATO launched its air campaign March 31 under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians. What started as a peaceful uprising inside the country against Gadhafi and his more than four-decade rule has become a civil war.
Fighting between government forces and the rebels had reached a stalemate until last week when NATO launched the heaviest bombardment of Gadhafi forces since the alliance took control of the skies over Libya.
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