Rebels close in on Gaddafi stronghold

Libya’s rebel forces were closing in on Muammar Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte, the gateway to the western half of the country, today after it was targeted for the first time by international air strikes.

Celebratory gunfire broke out in the early hours of the morning in the rebel city of Benghazi amid rumours that Sirte had already fallen without a fight.