From a position about 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Bin Jawad, smoke could be seen rising and artillery fire reverberated for around 30 minutes as vehicles full of rebel fighters sped away from the hamlet.
The convoys were headed towards Ras Lanuf, the town captured by rebels in heavy fighting with supporters of Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi on Friday.
Rebels told AFP earlier on Sunday that they had withdrawn from Bin Jawad after being ambushed by Kadhafi forces and coming under heavy fire.
Near the last checkpoint on the edge of Ras Lanuf, about 30 minutes` drive from Bin Jawad, excitable rebels on the highway pointed to the sky and opened fire with anti-aircraft machine guns.
An aircraft was seen flying overhead and then suddenly smoke shot up from the horizon about four kilometres (two miles) away.
The rebels shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greater), got in their cars and raced off into the desert, where they found two craters on each side of the road.
Gathered around the craters, they hailed the pilot as a nationalist for missing the target. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
