Clashes near Gadhafi compound in Libyan capital

Volunteers carry a wounded rebel fighter in the Abu-Rafat hospital on the outskirts of Zawiya, LIbya, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. Libyan rebels said they were less than 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Moammar Gadhafi’s main stronghold of Tripoli on Sunday, a day after opposition fighters launched their first attack on the capital itself. Fighters said a 600-strong rebel force that set out from Zawiya has reached the outskirts of the village of Jedaim and was coming under heavy fire from regime forces on the eastern side of the town.

Sergey Ponomarev, Associated Press

1 of 2

Rebel fighters rest in the shade in the village of Mayah, some 30 kilometers west from Tripoli, LIbya, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. Libyan rebels said they were less than 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Moammar Gadhafi’s main stronghold of Tripoli on Sunday, a day after opposition fighters launched their first attack on the capital itself. Fighters said a 600-strong rebel force that set out from Zawiya has reached the outskirts of the village of Jedaim and was coming under heavy fire from regime forces on the eastern side of the town.

Sergey Ponomarev, Associated Press

2 of 2

TRIPOLI, Libya — Heavy clashes have broken out near Moammar Gadhafi's compound in the Libyan capital.

Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman says that tanks emerged from the complex, known as Bab al-Aziziya, early Monday and began firing.

An Associated Press reporter at the nearby Rixos Hotel where foreign journalists are staying could hear gunfire and loud explosions that have been going on for more than 30 minutes.

No further details were immediately available on the fighting.

Abdel-Rahman says that Gadhafi troops remain a threat to rebels advanced into the city Sunday, and that as long as Gadhafi remains on the run the "danger is still there."