DUBAI: Forces loyal to fugitive Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi have bombarded the capital's airport on Friday, damaging a plane, Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV reported.

There was an exchange of gunfire between Qadhafi forces and rebel fighters near the airport, the channel said in a rolling banner headline.

Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Qadhafi in the capital, after Nato air strikes on a building in the area on Thursday.