Qaddafi loyalists attack Misrata & Zintan ...amid renewed fears of stalemate

(Reuters) -" Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attacked two Libyan towns on Tuesday after a third night of air raids on Tripoli, but the Western campaign faced questions over the future of its command structure. With anti-Gaddafi rebels struggling to create a command structure that can capitalize on the air strikes against Libyan tanks and air defenses, Western nations have still to decide who will run the operation once Washington pulls back. The United States will cede control of the air assault in days, President Barack Obama said, even as divisions in Europe fueled speculation that Washington would be forced to continue leadership of air patrols to replace the initial bombardment....

A U.S. Air Force F-15E crashed in Libya overnight and one crewman had been recovered and the other was "in the process of recovery," the U.S. military said. The crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire, it said.

In the latest fighting on Tuesday, Gaddafi forces used tanks to shell the rebel-held western city of Misrata... Al Jazeera news network said Gaddafi forces were trying to seize the western rebel-held town of Zintan near the Tunisian border in an attack using heavy weapons. Residents had already fled the town center to seek shelter in mountain caves....

Rebels, who were driven back toward their eastern Benghazi stronghold before the air attacks halted an advance by Gaddafi forces, have done nothing to resume their planned advance on Tripoli -- raising fears the war could grind to a stalemate. Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Gaddafi, though France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within..."