NATO wages heaviest night of airstrikes on Tripoli

Tripoli has been rocked by the blasts which are thought to have been mainly targeting Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Plumes of black smoke have been seen rising above the city and pro-government supporters have been loudly beeping their car horns and firing guns, shouting their support for the leader.

Nato said in a statement that a number of the strikes hit a vehicle storage facility adjacent to Bab al-Aziziya that has been used in supplying regime forces conducting attacks on civilians

It was not immediately clear if the facility was the only target hit.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people have been killed and 150 injured.

Meanwhile, reports have suggested that the UK is to deploy Apache attack helicopters to Libya.

On Monday British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said he would like to see the military campaign "escalated".

It is believed Britain will send 12 Apache helicopters to the Libyan coast, basing them on the HMS Ocean, an amphibious assault ship.

In the besieged city of Misurata in the west and in Brega in the east, rebels are taking control of Col. Gaddafi 's equipment, making it more difficult for Nato to target ground troops.

Using helicopters, which fly at heights of 50 to 100m, will make it easier to hit small targets in built-up areas.

French foreign minister Alain Juppe earlier confirmed that France was sending helicopters to Libya , which he said would fall within UN Security Council resolution 1973, that authorises the protection of civilians.

And defence minister Gerard Longuet told reporters in Brussels: "The British, who have similar resources to us, are going to do the same thing we are."

Speaking in London after talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , Foreign Secretary William Hague declined to comment on the prospect of the use of attack helicopters.

However, when answering questions about France deploying helicopters, he said: "While not commenting on any particular deployment, remember that the tactics of the Gaddafi regime have changed over the weeks of this action.

"So sometimes, what we do in response, the assets we use in response, our own tactics, do also have to change."

Both Hague and Clinton said "time is running out" for Col Gaddafi.

"Time is not on the side of Gaddafi," said Hague. "Because the economic and military and diplomatic pressure on the regime will continue to be intensified in the days and weeks ahead."