The Libyan government Saturday said 15 people were killed in NATO attacks on "civilians targets" in the eastern oil port of Brega, state television reported, dpa reported.
A restaurant and a bakery were among the targets hit in the NATO raid, in which 20 people were wounded, according to Jamahiriya television.
The Libyan regime has accused NATO of hitting civilian targets, claiming that more than 700 civilians have been killed since the airstrikes began in March.
In May, the government said 16 Muslim clerics were killed in a NATO airstrike that targeted a government-owned guest house in Brega. NATO said the building had been "clearly identified as a command and control centre."
NATO officials have, in most cases, denied these reports. However, the alliance admitted last week for the first time that civilians may have been killed during a bombing raid over Tripoli due to a "weapons system failure."
A rebel spokesman rejected on Saturday the criticism over the Western alliance's operations in Libya, which was mandated by a United Nations for enforcing a no-fly zone to protect civilians.
Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman, told Al Jazeera that those who criticize NATO are "enemies to the freedom and security of the Libyan people."
They are "far away from reality" and have "shallow thinking," Bani said.
The US House of Representatives rejected a measure Friday authorizing a limited US role to support NATO's mission in Libya.
White House spokesman Jay Carney criticized the House's rejection of the military campaign authorization, saying it sends the wrong signal to NATO, while adding that the vote will not halt US involvement.
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