Libya's government says a NATO airstrike killed 15 people on Monday in a compound of a close associate to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

NATO denies the strike, saying the alliance has not conducted any recent operations in that area.

A spokesman for the Libyan government said the compound is in Surman, about 65 kilometers west of the capital, Tripoli. It is owned by a supporter of Mr. Gadhafi's. The spokesman said the man escaped unharmed but at least two of his grandchildren were among those killed.

The Libyan accusation comes a day after NATO acknowledged that an airstrike by its forces may have killed civilians in the Libyan capital.

The alliance said Sunday's airstrikes were launched against a military missile site, but “one weapon did not strike the intended target” because of a possible “weapons system failure.” NATO said it regretted the loss of innocent civilian lives.

Libyan officials said the NATO attack killed nine people, including two children, in one of Tripoli's residential neighborhoods.

This was the second recent admission of deadly error by coalition forces.

On Saturday, NATO said that aircraft under its command mistakenly attacked a Libyan rebel column last week near the oil refinery town of Brega. The number of casualties were not revealed.

Meanwhile, China says the head of the Libyan opposition council fighting longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi will visit China this week.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Monday that Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the Transitional National Council, will make a two-day visit beginning Tuesday.

China held talks earlier this month with an envoy from Mr. Gadhafi, and Chinese diplomats have met with anti-Gadhafi rebels based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.