Nato takes over Libya no-fly zone
The US says more than 350 planes are now involved in the Libya operation
Nato has agreed to take command of enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya from the US.
But Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made clear that other aspects of the operation would remain in the hands of the current coalition for now.
Nato has been locked in dispute about whether to take charge of the mission to enforce a UN resolution.
It is believed there are differences of opinion whether attacks on ground troops should form part of the action.
Coalition raids on Libya are meanwhile continuing for a sixth consecutive night.
Mr Rasmussen has insisted there is no split on the military handover, saying Nato is still considering whether to take on the "broader responsibility".
The handover of the no-fly mission could come as early as this weekend.
The US initially agreed to lead enforcement of the UN resolution, but made clear it wanted only a limited role and would hand over responsibility as soon as possible.
But the handover to Nato became bogged down when Turkey made clear its view that action should focus directly on enforcing the no-fly zone and arms embargo, rather than allowing any continuing strikes against ground forces.
The resolution authorises the international community to use "all necessary means" to protect Libyan civilians, but the phrase has become open to different interpretations.
Earlier, French officials confirmed they had destroyed a Libyan military plane which had flown in breach of the no-fly zone. The G-2/Galeb, a training plane with a single engine, had just landed when it was hit by a missile fired by a Rafale jet, a spokesman said.
It was the first such incident of its kind since the operation began.
'Stop fighting'
In the US, Vice-Admiral Bill Gortney told a Pentagon briefing that a total of 350 aircraft were now involved in the operation in some way, about half of them American.
A total of 38 ships were participating in a naval blockade, he said, 12 of them from the US.
He insisted that ground forces would continue to be attacked as long as they posed a threat to Libyan civilians.
"Our message to the regime troops is simple - stop fighting... stop obeying Gaddafi's orders," he said.
As the bombing raids were resumed on Thursday night, Libyan state television reported that targets in Tripoli and Tajoura had been hit.
NATO has agreed to take control of the no-fly zone in Libya as early as this weekend, after a unanimous vote to do so by all 28 member states.

Only the no-fly zone will be the responsibility of NATO forces; other military operations in Libya will remain under the control of the group of nations already involved. A two-level command system will be put in place, with political oversight being the responsibility of a new committee headed by NATO but also including other countries that are engaged in military operations in Libya. Deployment of military assets will fall under the purview of NATO alone.

An agreement was reached on Wednesday afternoon, after a conference call between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, British foreign secretary William Hague, French foreign minister , and the Turkish foreign minister.  This was proposed to the , and NATO secretary-general  later confirmed that all NATO members had agreed to implement it.

Turkey and France had previously disagreed over the issue of NATO control, with France opposed and Turkey in favor of having NATO command of military forces.

Hague said of the agreement that "this is a new coalition, put together very quickly for obvious reasons last week, and so there are bound to be issues to sort out in its management. But we are getting through those pretty well."