Nato blamed for attack on rebels

An apparent Nato airstrike slammed into a rebel combat convoy, killing at least five fighters and sharply boosting anger among Libyan anti-government forces after the second bungled mission in a week blamed on the military alliance.

Yesterday’s attack – outside the strategic oil port of Brega – brought fresh questions about co-ordination between Nato and the patchwork of rebel militias in a conflict described by a senior US commander as a stalemate that could eventually require the Pentagon to reassert more power, and possibly even send in ground forces.