Libyan rebels have regained control of the eastern gateway city of Ajdabiya after international airstrikes on Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Coalition military forces were in action for a third consecutive night with reports of fierce anti-aircraft fire followed by explosions near Muammar Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli.

US defence secretary Robert Gates began a two-day visit with US troops, allied commanders and Afghan leaders today to gauge war progress as the Obama administration moves towards crucial decisions on reducing troop levels.

The suspected suicide attack inside a US Army mess hall in Iraq represents a breach of the most basic principles of military security and points to significant weaknesses in the screening of Iraqis who are allowed onto the base, US experts say.

A MORTAR and rocket attack on a US military dining hall killed 24 people and wounded more than 60 in Iraq's northern city of Mosul yesterday in one of the deadliest attacks on American forces since the war began.