Gaddafi's forces hit with Tomahawks, air strikes

Two Italian Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon planes are ready to take off from Gioia del Colle NATO airbase in southern Italy March 22, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Giampiero Sposito

WASHINGTON | Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:45am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya fired 16 Tomahawk cruise missiles and flew 153 air sorties in the past 24 hours targeting Muammar Gaddafi's artillery, mechanized forces and command and control infrastructure, a U.S. military spokeswoman said on Friday.

In addition to the Tomahawks, the coalition air forces used four JDAMs -- GPS-guided bombs -- against the Libyan leader's military forces, said Nicole Dalrymple, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Africa Command based in Germany.

Of the air sorties, the U.S. aircraft flew 67 and other coalition air forces flew the remaining 86. The figures were for the 24-hour period up to 2 a.m. EST/0600 GMT, Dalrymple said.