NATO failed again to agree on taking over command of military operations against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya from the United States, chiefly due to Turkish reservations, diplomats said.

Turkey, a Muslim ally, said it did not want NATO to take responsibility for offensive operations that could cause civilian casualties or be in charge of enforcing a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone while coalition aircraft were simultaneously bombing Libyan forces, Reuters reported.

"It would be impossible for us to share responsibility in an operation that some authorities have described as a 'crusade'," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has used that term, as has Gaddafi.