"We heard three loud explosions and we saw flames and smoke billowing close to us," a resident of Ain Zara neighbourhood in eastern Libya told AFP.

Two other detonations shook the same neighbourhood a few minutes later, another witness said.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's office in his immense Tripoli residence was destroyed in a NATO air strike early on Monday, while loud explosions were heard in several districts of the capital as warplanes roared overhead.

But Kadhafi is safe and his morale is high, regime spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said. "The leader is working from Tripoli... The leader is in a safe place," he said.

Ibrahim said three people were killed and 45 wounded -- 15 seriously -- in the NATO air strike.