Libyan rebels acknowledged that a warplane which crashed in flames in their Benghazi stronghold early today belonged to them and that it was shot down by Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

"Yes, it was one of the insurgents' planes. It was downed by Gaddafi's forces," a senior rebel official told AFP, reached by telephone.

"From what I hear the pilot is dead but I cannot confirm that," he said, adding that the plane was a French-built Mirage fighter.

"We have a few planes but they are old planes," he added.