French warplanes have shot down a Libyan plane in the first incident of its kind since enforcement of the UN no-fly zone began, a US official said.
The incident happened near the besieged western city of Misrata, reports said.
Dozens of coalition missiles have already hit military bases, with the aim of ending Col Muammar Gaddafi’s ability to launch air attacks.
UK officials said on Wednesday that Libya’s air force no longer existed as a fighting force.
Coalition forces have pounded Libyan targets for a fifth consecutive night.
The French military said their planes had hit an air base about 250km (155 miles) south of the Libyan coastline, in an incident apparently unrelated to the shooting down of the Libyan plane.
French officials did not give any further information on the location of the target or the damage. (BBC)
