NATO launches intense airstrike

BENGHAZI, Libya - NATO launched its most intense bombardment yet against Muammar Gadhafi's stronghold of Tripoli on Tuesday, while a senior US diplomat said President Barack Obama has invited the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council to open an office in Washington DC.

The NATO led forces has been stepping up airstrikes and diplomatic efforts against the government in a bid to break a virtual stalemate, with the rebels in the east and Gadhafi maintaining his hold on most of the west.

The NATO airstrikes hit in rapid succession within a half-hour time span, setting off more than 20 explosions and sending up plumes of acrid-smelling smoke from an area around Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound in central Tripoli.