Qatar first Arab state in combat mission over Libya

TINY Qatar became the first Arab country to fly combat missions over Libya yesterday after NATO agreed to take command of the no-fly zone part of air operations against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

French and British jets struck Libyan military targets around a besieged eastern city, as talks in the Ethiopian capital to find a way out of the crisis produced a Libyan government statement saying they were ready to implement an unspecified “road map” in Libya.

The Qatari fighter jet flew its first sortie alongside a French jet and the United Arab Emirates pledged 12 warplanes to the operation.