Italy will allow its air force to take "targeted action" against selected military objectives in Libya, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.
In a telephone conversation he had informed US President Barack Obama "that Italy has decided to respond positively" to an appeal by the head of the NATO military alliance, Berlusconi said in a statement.
"Italy has decided to augment the operational flexibility of its planes through targeted actions against specific military objectives on Libyan territory in the context of contributing to protecting the Libyan civilian population," he said.
In this way, "Italy remains within the limits set by the (NATO) mandate for the operation and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council."
An international coalition intervened in Libya on March 19, launching air raids and missile strikes under a UN mandate aimed at protecting civilians from Gaddafi's forces.
NATO took command of the air campaign on March 31.
Italy, which has ruled out ground operations in Libya, said it was stepping up its contribution after heavy fighting in Misrata claimed numerous civilian victims.
Blasts shake east Tripoli: witnesses
Five loud explosions rocked the eastern part of the Libyan capital on Monday night, witnesses said, although they could not pinpoint the precise location of the blasts.
"We heard three loud explosions and we saw flames and smoke billowing close to us," a resident of Ain Zara neighbourhood in eastern Tripoli told AFP.
Two other detonations shook the same neighbourhood a few minutes later, another witness said.
Later, Al-Jamahiriya television said NATO had raided civil and military targets in the Ain Zara district and at Bir Al-Ghanam, 50 kilometres (30 miles) to the southwest.
The television quoted a military source as saying there had been victims, but gave no number.
Libyan leader Gaddafi's office in his immense Tripoli residence was destroyed in a NATO air strike yesterday. But Gaddafi is safe and his morale is high, regime spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said. "The leader is working from Tripoli... The leader is in a safe place," he said.
Some 2,000 foreigners seek to flee Libyan town: US
Some 2,000 foreigners remain in the western Libyan port town of Misrata still hoping to be evacuated, US officials said.
Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Gaddafi have been pushed out of rebel-held Misrata but rockets continue to hit Libya's third city, Libyan rebel sources said.
"As of today, we know about 2,000 third country nationals who are in Misrata and require evacuation," said Reuben Brigety, a senior State Department official who handles refugee issues.
Ships providing aid to rebels in Misrata are able to embark some of the refugees, Brigety told reporters.
