Gadhafi defiant despite NATO airstrikes in Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Libya

At least three strikes hit the outskirts of Tripoli in the course of several hours.

The latest /*NATO*/ raid comes after loyalists bombed the western city of Misrata. Witnesses said that attack killed at least nine people.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's daughter spoke out against the NATO bombings.

"We are asking this question to the West: Are the missiles and bombs, which had fell on us, was for the protection of the civilian?" she asked.

Libyan television said new video shows Gadhafi standing up through the sunroof of an SUV as it drove through the streets of Tripoli the same day NATO bombs fell on the city.

Gadhafi gave no sign that he's willing to relent, despite two months of civil war and mounting international pressure for him to move aside.

Rebels hold much of eastern Libya, while Gadhafi controls the west, with the front line shifting back and forth in the middle. Three weeks of international airstrikes haven't routed Gadhafi's forces.

Meantime, an intelligence group based in the U.S. said one of al-Qaeda's top leaders recorded a message before the recent airstrikes in Libya, calling on Muslim countries to fight the U.S. and NATO, if those allied forces actually entered Libya.

Ayman al-Zawahri directed his message specifically at Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.

He also encouraged Muslims to fight Gadhafi's forces. Al-Qaeda wants to see an Islamic government established in Libya.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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