Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Three civilians were reported killed in a NATO airstrike near Tripoli.
Breaking News posted on Twitter: “Libya update: 3 die when NATO airstrike hits parking lot at Gadhafi compound in Tripoli – Govt. spokesman via Reuters.”
Other sources published similar news, referring back to the government spokesperson.
The Huffington post reported that the area was mostly used by the military: “NATO jets hit a target near Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s compound in central Tripoli early on Saturday, which the government described as a car park but which Reuters reporters said looked like a bunker.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said three people were killed by the “very powerful explosion” near Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziyah compound in the early hours of Saturday.
Reuters said cars were parked on the empty land but the area was surrounded by a wall and guarded by watchtowers and soldiers, suggesting it was not simply wasteland.
Its reporters saw two large holes in the ground, where the bombs had torn through a layer of soil, followed by a layer of reinforced concrete, to pierce what appeared to be an underground bunker.” NATO itself said it struck two bunkers on that day in Tripoli but did not mention civilian harm.
According to independent monitors, throughout the NATO campaign civilian casualty numbers provided by the Gaddafi regime were said to be inflated.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (7) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Bab Al Azizia (باب العزيزية), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.871451, 13.172594. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
NATO forces Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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NATO did not target health or water facilities, including those at military sites, at any time during OUP. On 23 April, there were strikes at five separate deliberate targets including command and control and ammunition bunkers. No known health or water facilities were within the target or weapons effects areas, and post-strike battle damage assessment indicated no collateral damage. In addition, 14 dynamic targets (main battle tanks, missile and rocket launchers, tank carriers, other military vehicles and a military command post) were struck in the Misrata and central regions; assessment by the aircraft delivering the weapon immediately following these strikes gave no indication of collateral damage.
Original strike reports
In Tripoli: 2 command and control bunkers.