PARIS: A French fighter jet destroyed a Qadhafi regime warplane on Thursday just after it landed in the Libyan city of Misrata, 200 kilometres (130 miles) east of Tripoli, according to the French military. One of about 20 French military planes flying over Libyan airspace, the Rafale jet fired an air-to-surface AASM missile at the Libyan aircraft, which had been detected by a US AWAC surveillance plane, the source said. Earlier, a US official reported that the destroyed plane, identified by the Americans as a Yugoslav-built G-2/Galeb, has been hit at midday "while landing", suggesting that is was still in the air. This "first report", however, has not been confirmed, the US official added. French planes, backed by British and American forces, have taken the lead in carrying out air strikes under a UN resolution approving a no-fly zone aimed at protecting civilians from attacks by forces loyal to strongman Moamer Qadhafi.
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