TRIPOLI, Libya– Libyan state television reports that international airstrikes are targeting Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown and stronghold of Sirte for the first time.

Foreign journalists in the city reported loud explosions and warplanes flying overheard.

Sirte is strategically located about halfway between the rebel-held east and the Gadhafi-controlled west along a key coastal highway. Rebels were advancing rapidly west on the highway Sunday toward Sirte after international airstrikes eased their way.

An Associated Press reporter in the capital said international forces were also heavily bombarding the city that is Gadhafi’s main support base. There were at least nine loud explosions in Tripoli after nightfall and anti-aircraft fire was heard.