Rebels in Misrata battled pockets of withdrawing government troops on the outskirts of the western city on Saturday, claiming victory after a decision in Tripoli to pull back forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi following nearly two months of siege.

Opposition forces in Libya's third-largest city had held firm after being pounded by the government's heavy weapons for weeks. On Friday, a top Libyan official said troops would be withdrawn and local tribes would take up the fight _ a notion scoffed at by rebels.

A rebel activist in the Misrata questioned how much support Moammar Gadhafi had among the local tribes.

"This whole move is just to buy time," he added, expecting further attacks.

For now, however, most of the city of 300,000 people was calm, with rebel forces taking over several key buildings that had been filled with government soldiers, including snipers. An eight-story insurance building _ pockmarked by shells and scorched around the windows _ had been used by snipers because it was the tallest in central Misrata and commanded a view of the city.

"After they heard the news, people began breathing freely. The women were making ululations and they went onto the streets beeping their car horns," said the activist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

The only fighting Saturday was on the eastern outskirts of the city, where about 150 pro-Gadhafi soldiers trying to withdraw were fighting rebels, he said, adding that ambulances were picking up dead and injured.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim sought to portray the move as a decision by tribal leaders to give the army an ultimatum to step aside if it cannot retake control of Misrata.

The tribal leaders would fight the rebels if the opposition forces don't surrender, Kaim said late Friday night.

"We will leave it for the tribes around Misrata and the Misrata people to deal with the situation in Misrata," Kaim told reporters.

Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between rebels and government forces in the city.

In the capital of Tripoli, two missiles apparently fired by NATO warplanes struck near Gadhafi's sprawling compound in the early hours of the morning, causing no injuries.

Reporters were taken to an unpaved plot next to the Bab Aziziyeh compound and shown two craters, apparently from the missiles that had pierced through thick layers of reinforced concrete, laying bare what looked like a bunker system.

Libyan officials said the space served as a parking lot but a series of olive-colored metal boxes near the crater suggested the area was being used for military activities.

NATO stepped into the Libyan fighting in mid-March, unleashing airstrikes against Libyan military targets as part of a U.N. mandate to protect Libyan civilians.

In the east of the country, their strikes smashed more than two dozen vehicles belonging to government forces, said rebel battalion commander Col. Hamid Hassy on Saturday.

NATO aircraft destroyed 26 government pickup trucks and sedans, he said, but otherwise there hasn't been much fighting between Gadhafi forces and the rebels. The front in the east has been stalled between the oil town of Brega and Ajdabiya for weeks.

In another boost for the rebels, the U.S. began flying Predator drones in Libya Thursday. The unmanned aircraft, which can swoop low, have been used in Afghanistan to hunt and kill militants, and are suited for urban combat.

Meanwhile, an Italian-owned tugboat was released after being held in Libya for weeks, the ship owner and the Italian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The Asso 22 was sailing home, its crew of eight Italians, two Indians and a Ukrainian unharmed, and was expected to dock in Italy on Sunday, according to Naples-based Augusta Offshore SrL.

The ship had been occupied by armed Libyan military officers since mid-March, and had for the most part been docked at the port of Tripoli. It was allowed to leave Friday night and soon made contact with an Italian navy ship in the Mediterranean as part of the NATO-led operations in Libya, said Augusta.

Ship owner Mario Mattioli of Augusta told Sky Italia that no ransom had been paid, and that diplomacy "at the top level" had helped resolve the case. The Foreign Ministry expressed satisfaction.

It wasn't clear if the seizure amounted to Libyan retaliation for Italy's participation in enforcing the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over Libya. Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler, has allowed use of its bases by coalition aircraft and also has offered its own jets for use in missions.

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Hadid reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sebastian Abbot in Benghazi, Libya, contributed to this report.