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Britain deploys attack choppers in Libya

Rebel fighters celebrate after coming back from the front line against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, in Ajdabiya, Libya, Monday, May 9, 2011, where fighting between rebels and forces loyal to leader Moamer Kadhafi is ongoing. Rebels controlled the airport in Misurata, spokesmen for the Libyan rebels said. UPI\Tarek Alhuony.
Rebel fighters celebrate after coming back from the front line against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, in Ajdabiya, Libya, Monday, May 9, 2011, where fighting between rebels and forces loyal to leader Moamer Kadhafi is ongoing. Rebels controlled the airport in Misurata, spokesmen for the Libyan rebels said. UPI\Tarek Alhuony. | License Photo

LONDON, June 4 (UPI) -- Britain has flexed military muscle by deploying attack helicopters in the NATO mission to quash Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's army, defense officials said.

An undisclosed number of Apache helicopters flew Saturday from the amphibious ship HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean Sea and destroyed a radar site and an armed checkpoint near Brega, the BBC reported.

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At the same time, the British broadcaster said France had deployed its Gazelle attack helicopters elsewhere in Libya.

British Gen. Richard Dannatt said one Apache came under fire, but its crew "destroyed …the people that were engaging it," The Daily Telegraph said.

"These things [helicopters] are highly sophisticated and those on the ground should not tangle with them," he told the BBC.

The Apaches are designed to hunt and destroy tanks and operate at lower altitudes than fighter jets and are more precise in strike ability, the report said.

The United Nations Security Council authorized NATO in late March to stop the Libyan military from attacking civilians protesting Gadhafi's 42-year-old regime.

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