France wants to explore the possibility of targeted bombing of Libya as an alternative to imposing a no-fly zone, French officials and sources said on Thursday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the idea during talks with members of his UMP political party, three party sources said.
"Extremely limited, but targeted strikes in specific cases and not necessarily on airbases is being explored," a member of Sarkozy's party who attended a lunch with him at the Elysee Palace told Reuters.
Sarkozy will present concrete plans for a response to the crisis at a European Union summit on Friday in Brussels and according to the source the possibility of air strikes was among the things being worked on.
The U.N. Security Council is split on whether to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya, an option Paris and London have pushed as they seek ways to limit Muammar Gaddafi's ability to mobilise his forces against rebels.
Targeted bombing would constitute a "lighter" alternative to the no-fly zone, French officials said.
"We can bomb runways," said one. "Between that and a no-fly zone, there is a whole range of options that the military can decide upon."
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