U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has revealed that intelligence reports suggest Libyan loyalist forces have placed bodies of people they have killed at the sites of coalition air strikes so they can blame the West for the deaths.

Mr Gates told the CBS Face The Nation programme: 'We do have a lot of intelligence reporting about Gaddafi taking the bodies of the people he's killed and putting them at the sites where we've attacked.'

A U.S.-led coalition began air strikes against Libya a week ago to establish a no-fly zone over the oil-exporting North African country and to try to prevent Gaddafi from using his air force to attack people rebelling against his rule.