Fighting between insurgents and forces loyal to strongman Muammar Gaddafi raged today in the rebel-held towns of Zintan, Nalut and Misrata in western Libya, witnesses and rebel sources said.

Gaddafi forces attacked Zintan, 120 kilometres southwest of Tripoli, late yesterday "and there were violent clashes with the rebels," a resident, reached by telephone, told AFP.

"The fighting was continuing Friday morning. There are casualties on both sides," he added.

In Nalut, a town of 66,000 people, 235 kilometres west of Tripoli, rebels attacked loyalist positions through the night "and seized all their arms and ammunition," a rebel fighter said.

"We took many of Gaddafi's soldiers prisoner," he added.

East of the capital, fighting also raged in the rebel-held bastion of Misrata today after a night of heavy gunfire, a rebel spokesman said.

"Dozens of bombs of all sorts have fallen on the city since last night," the spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the bombing was "still intense."

State television said late yesterday that Gaddafi loyalists had overrun Misrata, 210 kilometres from the capital, but that was denied by a rebel spokesman in the city.

AFP was unable immediately to independently verify the reports of the rebels and the witnesses.