LONDON, April 25 (UPI) -- Time is running out for the Libyan regime of Moammar Gadhafi, the British foreign secretary said as NATO forces bomb key positions in Tripoli.
NATO warplanes struck Tripoli early Monday, inflicting heavy damage on buildings in Gadhafi's compound. The BBC reported that at least two missiles hit the Gadhafi compound and the impact knocked three TV stations off the air for about a half hour.
During the weekend, reports circulated that forces loyal to Gadhafi pulled out of Misurata. British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, said the accounts may have been cover to give Gadhafi fighters time to launch an insurgent campaign against the rebels.
"It doesn't mean the Gadhafi regime has pulled out of Misurata but they are clearly under military pressure and they will come under ever greater diplomatic and economic pressure which we will be continuing to work on," he told the BBC.
European authorities said they were sending military liaison officers to rebel strongholds in Libya to help with logistical issues, though they insist that doesn't mean forces are on the ground fighting alongside the rebels.
Hague added that with a steady bombardment of Gadhafi's positions and political momentum tilting in favor of a rebel-backed transition council, time was running out for the Libyan leader and his loyalists.
"I think a lot of them can see there is no future for this regime," he said. "Time is not on Gadhafi's side."
