TRIPOLI - Muammar Gadhafi's forces attacked two west Libyan towns on Tuesday after coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night, and NATO tried to resolve a heated row over who should lead the Western air campaign.

Meanwhile, China called on Tuesday for an immediate cease-fire in Libya.

All parties must "immediately cease fire and resolve issues through peaceful means," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news conference, citing reports that the air strikes had caused civilian deaths.

"The UN resolution on a no-fly zone aimed to protect civilians. We oppose abuse of force causing more civilian casualties and more serious humanitarian disasters," Jiang said.

Western nations have still to decide who will take over command once Washington pulls back.

The United States will cede control in days, US President Barack Obama said, even as divisions in Europe fueled speculation that Washington would be forced to retain leadership of air patrols that will replace the initial bombardment.

"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks," Obama told a news conference on a visit to Chile.

In the first apparent air force casualty of the campaign, a US F-15E crashed in Libya overnight Monday and its two crew members were rescued, the US military said.

The plane came down in field of winter wheat and thistles outside the town of Bu Mariem, about 38 km east of the rebel capital of Benghazi. The crash was probably caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire, the military said.

In the latest fighting on Tuesday, Gadhafi's tanks shelled the rebel-held western city of Misrata. Residents said the death toll for Monday had reached 40.

NATO officials resumed talks in Brussels on Tuesday after failing to reach agreement at heated talks on Monday.

Some allies were now questioning whether a no-fly zone was necessary, given the damage already done by air strikes to Gadhafi's military capabilities, a NATO diplomat said.

"Yesterday's meeting became a little bit emotional," the NATO envoy said, adding that France had argued that the coalition led by France, Britain and the US should retain political control of the mission, with NATO providing operational support.

Underlining the differences in the anti-Gadhafi coalition, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said if agreement was not reached on a NATO command, Italy would resume control of the seven airbases it has made available to allied air forces. A NATO role would require political support from all the 28 states.

AP, Xinhua contributed to this story.

Reuters