BRUSSELS - NATO carried out 74 airstrikes in Libya during the first day since taking over full command of military operations from the United States on Thursday, the western military alliance said on Friday.

Since the start of the NATO-commanded mission, code-named Unified Protector, a total of 178 sorties have been conducted, including 74 strike sorties, NATO said in a statement.

Seventeen naval vessels under NATO command are patrolling the Central Mediterranean to enforce arms embargo on Libya, a part of the NATO mission, the statement said.

Two ships were stopped to "determine destination and cargo", but "no boardings were required," according to the statement.

BBC television quoted a Libyan doctor as saying that a Western coalition air strike had killed seven civilians, mostly children, and wounded another 25 people near the oil town of Brega on Wednesday.

The doctor told the BBC correspondent he had been called to a village 15 km (9 miles) from Brega after the strike hit a military convoy driven by supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A trailer containing ammunition exploded between two homes, killing girls and young men aged between 12 and 20, the BBC said on Friday. The report has not been confirmed.

NATO has taken over command of air strikes that have targeted Gaddafi's military infrastructure, and of policing a UN-mandated no-fly zone and an arms embargo.

The no-fly zone authorises "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attack by Gaddafi's forces.