LONDON - The head of Britain's armed forces was quoted on Sunday as urging NATO to widen the scope of its bombings campaign in Libya to increase pressure on Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Gen. David Richards told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper in an interview that the alliance should authorize the targeting of infrastructure facilities, not just the military command and control centers that are being currently being pounded in airstrikes.

"The military campaign to date has been a significant success for NATO and our Arab allies," Richards was quoted as telling the newspaper. "But we need to do more. If we do not up the ante now there is a risk that the conflict could result in Gadhafi clinging to power."

Richards insisted that NATO was not specifically targeting Gadhafi, but acknowledged that killing him would fall within the bloc's current mandate if he was hit while inside a regime military facility.

The British armed forces chief said that targeting infrastructure elements could intensify the campaign and help to weaken Gadhafi's grip on power.

"At present, NATO is not attacking infrastructure targets in Libya. But if we want to increase the pressure on Gadhafi's regime then we need to give serious consideration to increasing the range of targets we can hit," he said.

Richards insisted there had been "hardly any civilian casualties," during NATO's air campaign so far because of careful selection of bombing targets.

"If any risk is posed to Libya's civilian population then we do not hit the target. No one wants to kill innocent civilians," Richards told the newspaper.

NATO said Saturday it couldn't confirm a Libyan government claim that 11 Muslim clerics were killed in an airstrike in eastern Libya.