NATO forces destroyed 17 tanks belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces, a NATO official said on April 9.

NATO aircraft hit 15 tanks near the western city of Misrata, where Gaddafi's forces are attacking rebels, and two south of Brega in the east of the country, he said. "Friday's operations could prove to have had the highest tempo (since NATO took command of military operations in Libya)," Reuters quoted the official as saying.

The official also said NATO aircraft intercepted a MIG 23 aircraft near Benghazi on April 9, flown by a rebel pilot, and advised him to land. "We don't know the identity of the pilot but given that he took off from Benghazi, we would presume it was an opposition pilot," he said.

A team of African leaders, headed by South African President Jacob Zuma, headed for Libya on a key diplomatic mission.

The five heads will visit both Tripoli and the rebel-held city of Benghazi to push for a truce between the forces of Col Muammar Gaddafi and the opposition, BBC reported.