Gadhafi could flee Tripoli

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is considering leaving Tripoli for a more secure location away from the fighting, U.S. intelligence says.

Gadhafi "doesn't feel safe anymore" in Tripoli, the nation's capital, because of regular airstrikes by NATO aircraft and battlefield gains of rebel troops, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Officials said they don't believe Gadhafi will flee the country.

"NATO's efforts to reduce the Libyan regime's capability to command and control military forces are having an effect," a senior defense official said in the Journal report. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to operate inside Tripoli."

Some U.S. lawmakers have questioned the legal grounds for the action in Libya. The House Friday defeated a measure authorizing U.S. participation in Libya for 12 months. It also defeated a measure blocking funding for the mission in support of NATO airstrikes.

"NATO's efforts to reduce the Libyan regime's capability to command and control military forces are having an effect," a senior defense official told the Journal. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to operate inside Tripoli."