NATO bombs hit hospital in Libya’s Sirte

NATO has carried out a new round of airstrikes against Libya, targeting a hospital in the northern town of Sirte, Press TV reports.

NATO warplanes bombed the medical center in Sirte, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, on Thursday. The number of possible casualties remains unknown.

The strike comes as the houses of tribesmen loyal to the fugitive Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi have been looted in the south of the city.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday set out conditions for the termination of the NATO campaign in Libya.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO defense chiefs in Brussels, Belgium, Panetta said that a decision to cease the bombing of Libya will depend on whether forces loyal to Gaddafi are still able to attack civilians, and whether the Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) forces are able to provide security for the North African country.

NATO has carried out more than 9,300 airstrikes on Libya since its campaign started in March, according to the Associated Press.

Hundreds of Libyan civilians have lost their lives since NATO took command of the airstrikes on March 31.

NATO aerial attacks have also severely damaged Libya’s infrastructure.