msnbc.com news services
Gadhafi forces continue to clash with rebels, shell besieged town of Misrata
The United States is using armed Predator drones in Libya to target Moammar Gadhafi's forces with the approval of President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.
The unmanned aircraft, already used to target militants along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, will allow for precise attacks against Gadhafi's forces, Gates told a news conference in Washington, D.C.
"He (Obama) has approved the use of armed Predators," Gates said.
The first two Predators, which carry Hellfire missiles and can stay in the air for 24 hours, headed to Libya on Thursday but had to turn back due to bad weather, said General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The U.S. military plans to maintain two patrols of armed Predators above Libya at any given time, permitting better surveillance -- and targeting -- of Gadhafi's forces as they dig into positions next to civilian areas, Cartwright told the same briefing.
The drones are based in the region but typically flown by remote control by pilots in the United States. The drones for Libya had not been withdrawn from Afghanistan, Gates and Cartwright said.
Gates said Obama continues to be opposed to sending U.S. ground forces into Libya. There were no plans to send U.S. trainers to augment NATO forces already working with rebel forces or to increase the American presence substantially, Gates said.
A man walks past a house allegedly destroyed by Gadhafi's army in the eastern town of Ajdabiya on Wednesday.