A fresh air strike targeted the rebel-held Libyan town of Brega today, residents said, one day after clashes between rebels and pro-regime fighters killed at least 12 people.

"Around two hours ago, warplanes dropped a bomb in the area between the oil company and the residential area," Fattah al-Moghrabi, director of supplies for Brega hospital, told AFP.

"As far as I know, there was no casualties," he added.

Other people at the hospital also confirmed a strike.

Abdulrahman, a fighter at the entrance to the refinery complex who did not want to give his last name, told AFP he saw the attack.

"I was here with my people, tightening security around the refinery, then we heard the sound of planes. It was one plane that flew over three times. I think it was Sukhoi. The third time, it dropped bombs," he told AFP.

An AFP reporter saw two craters punched out of empty land close to the refinery compound.

Moghrabi said 12 people were killed in Brega yesterday, nine of them rebels and three pro-Muammar Gaddafi fighters.

"Of these three, one had an ID from Niger and two others were black Africans without IDs," he said.

The hospital official said that funerals would be held in Ajdabiya, a town 70 kilometres (40 miles) further east along the Mediterranean coast into rebel-held territory, "for safety reasons".