Libya Rebels: NATO Air Strike Wounds 16 Near Ajdabiyah

NATO 'Aware' of Report, Promises Investigation

Rebel leadership in the East Libyan city of Ajdabiyah reported overnight that NATO air strikes targeted a group of rebel fights in the nearby village of Amreer Gabs, wounding at least 16 and destroying six vehicles.

Officials initially said they were unsure if the attack was by Gadhafi warplanes or NATO, but now say it was almost certainly another accidental strike by NATO forces, the latest in a number of “friendly fire” incidents.

NATO said it was unable to confirm or deny the attack because they “did not have personnel on the ground in Libya.” They did however confirm that they were aware of the report and promised to investigate.

Though NATO has threatened in the past to attack the rebels, it does not appear that this would have been a deliberate attempt to do so. The fact that they have been unable to even avoid hitting allies with which they are in fairly regular contact makes their claims of minimal civilian deaths extremely difficult to believe, however.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.