Libyan rebels fight for last Gaddafi bastions – in pictures

Revolutionary fighters gather at a strategic checkpoint under a bridge before heading on a reconnaissance mission in Sirte, the home town of former leader Muammar Gaddafi and one of his last strongholds Photograph: Gaia Anderson/AP

Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand outside a village near Sirte Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

A Libyan NTC logistics car drives through smoke from a rocket launched by Muammar Gaddafi loyalists on the outskirts of Sirte Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP

NTC fighters gather on the outskirts of Sirte Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

At a field hospital created in a converted petrol statio on the western outskirts of Sirte, an anti-Gaddafi fighter stands next to a friend who was badly injured on the frontline Photograph: Shawn Baldwin/Corbis

Volunteer medics at a field hospital clean the body of a 21-year-old anti-Gaddafi fighter who was killed by a sniper's bullet on the frontline in Sirte Photograph: Shawn Baldwin/Corbis

Anti-Gaddafi fighters prepare to fight on the outskirts of Harawa, the last town east of Sirte Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

NTC fighters celebrate on a tank they say they captured from pro-Gaddafi forces 3km (1.8 miles) from the centre of Sirte Photograph: Anis Mili/Reuters

Libyan rebels take cover as they come under sniper fire from Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid Photograph: Mohamed Messara/EPA

A Libyan rebel fires an RPG, during shooting practice on the outskirts of Bani Walid Photograph: Mohamed Messara/EPA

Libyan National Transitional Council fighters head to the frontline in the city of Bani Walid, where fierce fighting is raging Photograph: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

A rebel fighter guards the highway at a checkpoint in Wadi Dinar, leading to Bani Walid Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/AP

Libyan rebels shoot Grad missiles towards Gaddafi loyalist positions near the airport in Sirte Photograph: Guillem Valle/EPA

Anti-Gaddafi fighters sit in a truck at a strategic checkpoint after retreating from the north of the besieged city of Bani Walid Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

A National Transitional Council convoy comes under artillery attack in the city of Bani Walid Photograph: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images