P203 CJEFAX 203 Tue 8 May 21:13/42 1/2 Forces loyal to Libya's Colonel Gaddafi are reported to have crushed an attempted coup. Earlier today the Tripoli barracks where Colonel Gaddafi usually lives came under fire from rockets and automatic weapons. Western diplomats said the attack lasted three hours and they had heard a coup attempt had failed. Later, the official Libyan news agency announced that security forces had Sillid a group of bBritish-trained" terrorists who had taken hostages in an apartment building. MoreP203 CJJFAX 203 Tue 8 May 21:15/54 2/2 BACKGROUND Diplomatic sources in Tripoli have reported recent acts of sabotage and arson, but no sign of organised opposition to Colonel Gaddafi. They said scores of people were killed and tanks, missiles and planes damaged in a blast at an ammunition depot 400 miles east of Tripoli on March 25. The diplomats added that sjvjtal other military vehicles had been blown up in the same area, and also pointed to conflicting reports of a mutiny at an army barracks near Benghazi. The aria is traditionally loyal to the late King Idriss, who was deposed by Gaddafi in 1969.