Libya: Rebels set sights on refineries, US sends drones

Rebels to the west and east of Libya's capital fought forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi for control of oil facilities vital to winning the six-month-old civil war.

* Rebels try to clear western refinery of Gaddafi loyalists

* Rebels take further losses in eastern Brega refinery fight

* Mass grave near Misrata contains bodies of 150 civilians

* US deploys two more Predator drones

“The United States also deployed two more Predator drones for surveillance operations over Libya”, a US official said on Wednesday, as Gaddafi's forces faced unprecedented pressure.

The drones arrived earlier this week, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear how many US drones were currently deployed on the NATO mission.

In Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, rebels assaulted a coastal oil refinery to try to drive the last Gaddafi forces out and tighten their noose around the capital.
A rebel spokesman said a pipeline to Tripoli was cut. There was no word on the outcome of their assault after nightfall.

In Brega, on the eastern front, rebel forces said they had suffered 18 killed and 33 wounded on Tuesday and Wednesday in their battle to dislodge Gaddafi forces from the oil port and refinery, where they have been fighting for many days.

Fifteen of the rebels were killed on Tuesday and three on Wednesday, said spokesman Mohammad Zawawi.

Libyan state television showed video of Gaddafi supporters at the Brega terminal on Wednesday chanting the leader's name.

After 41 years of supreme power, the 69-year-old Gaddafi seems isolated. Rebel forces are closing in from the west, south and east, cutting off his Tripoli stronghold on the Mediterranean shore. Gaddafi's whereabouts are not known.