WASHINGTON - The bombing by NATO warplanes on the residence of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi is not an assassination attempt, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.

"It is certainly not the policy of the coalition, of this administration, to decapitate, or to effect regime change in Libya by force," he told reporters.

Related readings:  Attempt to hijack plane to Libya thwarted  Libya conflicts in children's eyes  Russia calls for immediate ceasefire in Libya  US sends armed Predator drones to Libya

He insisted that the goal of the military mission remains " clear," which is to "protect the civilian population, enforce the no-fly zone, and enforce the arms embargo."

Carney avoided getting further into Monday's bombing by referring reporters to NATO about the "specific decisions in terms of bombing missions."

NATO warplanes bombed the residence of Gadhafi in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, early Monday morning in an attack described by the Libyan government as an attempt on the Libyan leader's life.

A Libyan press official at the scene said that 45 people were wounded in the bombing, among whom 15 were in serious condition, and some others remained unaccounted for.

Gadhafi's office in the compound, where he often held ministerial and other meetings, was destroyed along with another multi-story structure.