Nato Forces Hit Tripoli With Heaviest Bombing Yet Nato Forces Hit Tripoli With Heaviest Bombing Yet. NATO pounded the capital with more 20 airstrikes Tuesday in its most intense bombardment yet against Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold of Tripoli, while a senior U.S. diplomat said President Barack Obama has invited the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council to open an office in Washington. The international community has been stepping up airstrikes and diplomatic efforts against the regime in a bid to break a virtual stalemate, with the rebels in the east and Gadhafi maintaining his hold on most of the west. The NATO airstrikes hit in rapid succession within a half-hour time span, setting off a series of explosions and sending up plumes of acrid-smelling smoke from an area around Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound in central Tripoli. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in NATO strikes that targeted what he...