Senior al-Qaeda operative Ilyas Kashmiri, regarded as one of the most dangerous militants in the world, was killed by a US drone.
Libya’s rebel army has replaced ragtag volunteers with polished officers as it seeks to bolster its image as a credible adversary of Muammar Gaddafi.
Nato air strikes may force Libya to halt fighting by its army in the besieged port of Misrata and let local tribes take over the battle.
The United States has started using armed drones against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops, who battled rebels at close quarters on the streets of Misrata.
Nato may have to intensify attacks on government forces to break the military stalemate in Libya, while the UN pushes to help trapped civilians.
Fighting erupted on the eastern front in Libya’s civil war on Saturday as a Red Cross ship brought medical supplies to the besieged city of Misrata.
Libyan rebels said five fighters were killed when Nato bombed a tank column and a US general said they were unlikely to oust Muammar Gaddafi by force.
Libyan rebels pulled out of the oil town of Ras Lanuf on Wednesday under heavy bombardment from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
Muammar Gaddafi’s troops reversed the westward charge of Libyan rebels as world powers met in London on Tuesday to plot the country’s future.
Western warplanes bombed Muammar Gaddafi’s armour in eastern Libya on Friday to try to break a battlefield stalemate and help rebels take Ajdabiyah.