A BBC correspondent says they are at the eastern gates, and the offensive is gaining energy and momentum⁴.

 

But pro-Gaddafi fighters in Bani Walid launched fresh attacks, forcing a retreat under heavy fire.

 

Meanwhile the interim National Transitional Council said the creation of a new cabinet had been postponed⁵.

 

The number two in the council, Mahmoud Jibril, said last-minute haggling⁶（讨价还价，争辩） had "indefinitely" delayed the decision, AFP news agency said.

 

 

Nine hundred armoured vehicles are involved in the anti-Gaddafi assault on Sirte, with more reinforcements being brought in.

 

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in nearby Harawa, whose recent capture the forces are celebrating, says large field guns were towed past the town mosque⁷ on the way to the front line.

 

There were reports of heavy fighting around the eastern gate of Sirte, with pro-Gaddafi fighters using snipers and rocket fire.

 

Our correspondent reports seeing five injured with gunshot and shrapnel（榴霰弹） wounds and one dead.

 

It seems they were lured⁸ into an ambush⁹ but the pro-Gaddafi snipers left behind as bait had been caught, he says.

 

"The situation is very dangerous. There are so many snipers and all the types of weapons you can imagine," fighter Mohamed Abdullah told Reuters news agency.

 

Nato has also been involved in the fighting, with British patrols destroying an armoured personnel carrier and two pick-up trucks, according to the UK Ministry¹⁰ of Defence.

 

Earlier, RAF tornadoes¹¹ bombed an ammunition¹²（弹药，军火） facility just west of the city.

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