Gadhafi loyalists beat back assault on strongholds

SIRTE, Libya (AP) — Moam­mar Gadhafi’s fight­ers beat back an attempt by Libya’s new gov­ern­ment Fri­day to crush rem­nants of the old regime, forc­ing rev­o­lu­tion­ary troops into retreat in the moun­tains and turn­ing Gadhafi’s sea­side home­town into an urban bat­tle­field of snipers fir­ing from mosques and heavy weapons rat­tling main boulevards.