June 25, 2011 -- Updated 1255 GMT (2055 HKT)
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- NATO airstrikes in the Libyan city of al-Brega Saturday killed 15 civilians and wounded several others, a Libyan government official told CNN.
The official said NATO planes struck a bakery and a restaurant. NATO said it had struck key command-and-control centers and there was "no indication of civilian causalities in connection with these strikes."
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces have occupied buildings in an abandoned area of al-Brega from where they are launching attacks on civilians, a NATO statement said. The alliance monitored the buildings and said it determined them to be clear military targets.
"This continues to show Gadhafi's reprehensible tactics of placing military assets and operations at the heart of civilian neighbourhoods," said Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, NATO commander for the Libya campaign.
"We have meticulously monitored these developments for a significant period and it was time to remove this threat," he said.
Al-Brega is a key oil refinery town about 500 miles east of Tripoli that has been the scene of heavy fighting between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebel fighters.
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