NATO forces trying to kill Gaddafi: US admiral

The top United States admiral involved in the Libyan war has admitted to a US Congressman that forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are actively targeting and trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

According to CBS News, House Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner said that Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, told him NATO forces are trying to kill Gaddafi, despite the fact that the Obama administration continues to insist that ''regime change'' is not the goal and is not authorised by the United Nations mandate authorising the war.

Turner also said Locklear told him that the Libya mission would require troops on the ground if and when Gaddafi falls, the report said.

Turner's admission does not necessarily mean that US troops would be committed to kill Gaddafi, because NATO, with extensive US involvement, is now running the Libya operation.

It, however, provides fuel for critics who expressed early skepticism about any US engagement in Libya and its purported goals of the "humanitarian" mission, the report said.

The revelation came as the House voted to reject two competing resolutions on Libya -- one backing a continued engagement in the face of mounting congressional condemnation and another that would have cut off most funding for the war in an even harsher rebuke.

Congressional critics are angry that Obama entered the war without approval from lawmakers, which was required under the decades-old War Powers Resolution.