Instead, many rebels retreated instantly and civilian inhabitants of the next major town Ajdabiya began fleeing to the relative safety of Benghazi out of fear that government forces were advancing.
"Why did this happen?" said one fighter, called Mohammad Muftar. "The rebels were not threatening any civilians, they were not firing at the planes, why did this happen?"
The strike was the second in a week to have hit the wrong side. The previous error, which occurred close to Thursday's incident, killed 13 people.
Fighters said that captured tanks had been marked under an agreement with Nato to prevent friendly fire accidents, but to no avail. According to one rebel, up to seven were killed and others seriously wounded, including one teenaged boy who lost both legs. Others gave different figures.
Witnesses claimed the jets circled for half an hour before firing between two and four missiles. As they fled, rebels abandoned other tanks for fear of being struck again.
One doctor said that the allied strike had been followed immediately by an artillery bombardment by pro-Gaddafi troops in which one of his medical team was killed.
The mistake comes at a difficult time, with the alliance divided over how to proceed after the withdrawal from front-line attacks of the US and growing evidence to suggest the rebel forces are unlikely to win a war on their own, even with air cover.
The alliance has been criticised by rebel leaders for not doing enough to defend them, and particularly in the besieged city of Misurata, where another five people died in shelling on Wednesday and one more on Thursday, according to the opposition.
Thursday's incident, rather being seen as evidence for Nato's claims that attacking front line forces from the air carries a high risk of friendly fire and civilian casualties, caused even more complaints.
"This is a betrayal, what Nato have done," said Mustapha Abdul Rahman, who was wounded in the strike and was being treated in Benghazi's hospital last night. "We are not sure if the tanks were destroyed, we had to flee, we couldn't wait and see." A Nato statement said it was trying to confirm details of what had happened. "The fighting between Brega and Ajdabiya, where the strike occurred, has been fierce for several days. The situation is unclear and fluid with mechanised weapons travelling in all directions," it said.
A Nato spokesman denied Libyan government claims that its jets had also bombed Libya's largest oilfield.
Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, had blamed "British planes" for the deaths of three guards and injuries to other workers in the Sarir field.
But Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, the Canadian commander of the Nato operation, said: "We are aware that pro-Gaddafi forces have attacked this area in recent days. To try and blame it on Nato shows how desperate this regime is."
A rebel spokesman had already accused government armoured vehicles of attacking both Sarir and Messla, another important oilfield, following the rebels' announcement that they were exporting their first shipment of crude through the port of Tobruk
Witnesses claimed the jets circled for half an hour before firing between two and four missiles. As they fled, rebels abandoned other tanks for fear of being struck again.
One doctor said that the allied strike had been followed immediately by an artillery bombardment by pro-Gaddafi troops in which one of his medical team was killed.
The mistake comes at a difficult time, with the alliance divided over how to proceed after the withdrawal from front-line attacks of the US and growing evidence to suggest the rebel forces are unlikely to win a war on their own, even with air cover.
The alliance has been criticised by rebel leaders for not doing enough to defend them, and particularly in the besieged city of Misurata, where another five people died in shelling on Wednesday and one more on Thursday, according to the opposition.
Thursday's incident, rather being seen as evidence for Nato's claims that attacking front line forces from the air carries a high risk of friendly fire and civilian casualties, caused even more complaints.
"This is a betrayal, what Nato have done," said Mustapha Abdul Rahman, who was wounded in the strike and was being treated in Benghazi's hospital last night. "We are not sure if the tanks were destroyed, we had to flee, we couldn't wait and see." A Nato statement said it was trying to confirm details of what had happened. "The fighting between Brega and Ajdabiya, where the strike occurred, has been fierce for several days. The situation is unclear and fluid with mechanised weapons travelling in all directions," it said.
A Nato spokesman denied Libyan government claims that its jets had also bombed Libya's largest oilfield.
Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, had blamed "British planes" for the deaths of three guards and injuries to other workers in the Sarir field.
But Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, the Canadian commander of the Nato operation, said: "We are aware that pro-Gaddafi forces have attacked this area in recent days. To try and blame it on Nato shows how desperate this regime is."
A rebel spokesman had already accused government armoured vehicles of attacking both Sarir and Messla, another important oilfield, following the rebels' announcement that they were exporting their first shipment of crude through the port of Tobruk
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