British Navy destroys Gaddafi's HQ: Row over right to kill Libyan tyrant

IN PICTURES: Allied airstrikes on Gaddafi targets

Asked if there could be an attempt to kill the Libyan dictator, General Sir David Richards, the chief of the defence staff, said: "Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further."

But within hours a senior government source said General Richards was wrong, adding: "Clearly he (Gaddafi) is a legitimate target." British politicians regard taking out Gaddafi as a "game changer". The US later confirmed that the British strike on Gaddafi's compound had targeted Libya's military command.

About 300 Gaddafi supporters were said to have been in the compound at the time, but it is not known if any were hurt.

US defence secretary Robert Gates warned that extending the mission beyond the UN resolution could undermine international support.

"I also think it is unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve," he added.

Gaddafi's forces were this afternoon believed to be shifting attacks away from Benghazi towards Misrata and other rebel areas.

The row over Gaddafi came amid reports that the dictator's sixth son, Khamis, had been killed. Sources in Tripoli denied that the 27-year-old had died.

Khamis runs the murderous Khamis Brigade which has been in the forefront of attacking rebel strongholds.

He was reported to have been killed on Saturday when a Libyan air force pilot crashed his jet into the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli on a "suicide" mission. Khamis reportedly died of burns in hospital.

This afternoon David Cameron sought to reassure MPs that the Government has an "exit strategy" from the Libyan conflict, stressing that the allied action would allow Libyans to determine "their destiny". He said: "There are rightly people who ask how and where this will end. Of course, there are difficulties and dangers ahead. But already we know beyond any doubt that we have succeeded in chasing Gaddafi's planes out of the sky."

He also circulated a summary of the Government's own legal advice, stating that the action is fully authorised under international law.

Just before he spoke, three UK Typhoons, deployed to southern Italy to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya, roared into the sky to prepare for their mission.

Air Vice Marshal Phil Osborn said Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft - which have been carrying out attacks from RAF Marham in Norfolk - would now be moving to Italy to join the Typhoons.

He said the Tornados would be equipped with Paveway IV laser-guided bombs and Brimstone guided missiles, as well as the Storm Shadow missiles they have already been using.

Major General John Lorimer, strategic communications officer to the chief of the defence staff, described the raids on Libya so far as "highly effective in degrading the Libyan air defences and command and control capability, as part of our setting the conditions to enforce the no-fly zone." The US military said two days of relentless allied air attacks had largely destroyed Libya's military capabilities and left troops "scattered and confused".

The Pentagon said Libya's air defences have been crippled and warned that any of Gaddafi's ground forces advancing on the rebels are open targets, effectively imposing a "no-drive zone" for his troops. US vice admiral William E Gortney said: "If they are moving on opposition forces we will take them under attack."

He added: "We judge these strikes to have been very effective in significantly degrading the regime's air defence capability.

"We believe his forces are under significant stress and suffering from both isolation and a good deal of confusion." A raid last night was called off as UK planes sent from RAF Marham were in the approach to an attack.

Meanwhile, the Government sought to play down claims of an Arab "wobble" after Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, expressed doubts about the military action. Libyan state television claimed that 48 people died in the US and European strikes and that Gaddafi's supporters were converging on airports as human shields.

The US, which has so far spearheaded the allied mission, said it planned to hand the reins of the mission over to Britain, France or Nato in the next few days.

Despite the international pressure, Gaddafi is vowing to continue fighting. "We promise you a long war," he said. On Saturday, at least 120 people were reportedly killed in the eastern city of Benghazi as Gaddafi troops staged ground raids and air assaults.

But rebel forces said the assaults had since been stunted by the international air strikes. Rebel fighters were reportedly fighting on the outskirts of Ajdabiyah this morning.

IN PICTURES: Allied airstrikes on Gaddafi targets