A new round of NATO missile strikes targeting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli and other sites in the country's capital caused blasts early Tuesday morning, after rebel forces gained ground Monday in two cities where fighting has intensified over the last two weeks.

Government forces began shelling the city of Misurata, causing rebel forces to retreat into the cities and an international effort to begin to keep peace within the country. Earlier on Monday, rebel forces pushed Gaddafi's troops outside the city limits to Qaryat az Zurayq, almost 10 miles west.

The New York Times reported:

The breakout of what had been nearly static lines came after NATO aircraft spent days striking positions and military equipment held by the Qaddafi forces, weakening them to the point that a ground attack was possible, the rebels said.

While not in itself a decisive shift for a city that remained besieged, the swift advance, made with few rebel casualties, carried both signs of rebel optimism and hints of the weakness of at least one frontline loyalist unit.

Gains made in the west have only kept momentum going in the east, where rebels are continuing to attempt to fend off government attempt to retake Ajdabiya, the last rebel stronghold before their main base in Benghazi. 

From the Los Angeles Times:

Control of Ajdabiya, about 100 miles south of the de facto rebel capital of Benghazi, shifted several times before rebels opposed to Kadafi's autocratic rule assumed control in March after NATO air attacks against his forces. The front line moved 20 to 30 miles west, on the coastal highway toward the oil refinery town of Port Brega, where Kadafi forces have been digging in.

The rebels say they are using the lull in fighting to train recruits and, at some point, prepare a coordinated offensive for a breakthrough to the west. A visit to Ajdabiya this week, however, revealed little evidence of a pending military push: No command centers, supply depots or large-scale troop movements were visible.

The final checkpoint on the western outskirts of town, which was as far as journalists were allowed, was a low-key affair manned by volunteers wielding Kalashnikov rifles, who used a mattress thrown down on the median to take their rests and eat sandwiches of crushed beans.

"We no longer allow just anybody who wants to fight to go through to the front," said Walid Mohammed, 30, a volunteer stationed at the checkpoint. "The professional army is in charge."

The rebels were able to gain a foothold in the east after days of NATO airstrikes on forces loyal to the government and their base camps, waking their forces.