NATO drone goes down in Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya, June 21 (UPI) -- An unmanned helicopter operated by NATO forces went down in Libya Tuesday, the alliance said without elaboration.

NATO spokesman Cmdr. Mike Bracken refused to say whether the drone was shot down or had mechanical problems, CNN said.

Libyan state television reported an "Apache helicopter was downed in the area of Majr in Zliten," claiming it was the fifth NATO aircraft to be downed. Bracken specifically denied NATO lost an attack helicopter, which an Apache is.

Meanwhile, Libyan rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril arrived in Beijing Tuesday to meet with Chinese officials as opposition forces fight to oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Chinese state media reported.

Jibril, chairman the opposition Transitional National Council, is expected to be in China for two days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

"China's major task is to promote peace and encourage talks," Hong said. "China has followed closely the development of the situation in Libya, and calls for the political resolution of the Libyan crisis."

A poll conducted for the Financial Times indicates any attempt by NATO to expand its campaign in Libya, either by targeting non-military targets or placing troops on the ground, would be opposed by a majority of citizens in larger European countries and the United States.

While the survey indicated strong support all of the countries polled -- Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United States -- for "regime change" in Libya, about half of the respondents in every country said they opposed NATO actions that would speed up the operation.

NATO's Operation Unified Protector is fulfilling the U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for protecting Libyan civilians from Gadhafi forces.