At least five people have died in a Nato air strike that hit a house in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Libyan government officials say.

利比亚政府官员称，北约的空袭击中了首都的黎波里一座房屋，造成至少5人死亡。

A three-storey house was badly damaged at the scene of the alleged¹ air raid in the city's Souk al Juma residential² district.

Correspondents were later shown five bodies at a Tripoli hospital.

Nato has not commented, but it has admitted mistakenly hitting civilian³ areas in previous bombing raids.

If proved to be a Nato strike, it will raise more questions about the alliance's mission in Libya, says the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tripoli.

Our correspondent was taken by Libyan government officials to a Tripoli hospital where he was shown the bodies of a dead woman, a dead man and a dead baby.

The officials said they were members of a family killed in the alleged Nato air strike.

Our correspondent was also shown the body of another man and a dead baby.

He saw two of the bodies earlier at Souk al Juma - one being pulled from the rubble⁴ and another being placed in an ambulance.

Libyan officials say Sunday's attack, in one of the city's poorer neighbourhoods, happened shortly after midnight.

Scores of men were working alongside（在旁边） the emergency services, pulling at sections of rubble and looking for bodies.

Locals said an entire family had been killed, though our correspondent was unable to immediately verify this claim.

'Seed of hatred⁵'

The level of damage, he adds, looked like the aftermath of an air strike, with concrete floors blown out onto the street.

The site is about one mile from a military airfield⁶（飞机场） which has been frequently targeted by Nato.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: "Nato is planting the seed of hatred in the hearts of Libyan people for years to come. They won't allow foreign armies to decide their future."

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters at the site that this represented "intentional⁷ and deliberate（故意的） targeting of civilian houses".

The incident occurred just over 24 hours after the country's prime minister accused Nato of specifically targeting civilians⁸ in its campaign.

Libyan rebels hold a third of the country in the east and pockets in the west, including Misrata, although Tripoli remains⁹ under government control.

Nato has flown more than 10,000 sorties since operations began, including almost 4,000 strike attacks against government targets across Libya.