The United States and British ships have fired more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles at air defences on the ground in Libya, the US Pentagon confirmed Saturday, dpa reported.
"This is just the first phase of a multi-phase operation," Admiral William Gortney told reporters in Washington.
Gortney said it was difficult to evaluate the success of the attacks given that darkness had fallen over Libya Saturday night. It would take 6-12 hours to discover whether Libya's air defences had been taken out.
Air defences are being targeted to help the international community enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and prevent Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi from engaging in a brutal crackdown down on civilians and anti-government forces in the country.
Military force was authorized late Thursday by the UN Security Council. French and British forces have also launched attacks.