Rebels Say Gadhafi Is Dead

Libyan fighters said that Col. Moammar Gadhafi died from wounds sustained during a final push to seize control of his hometown of Sirte, the last remaining stronghold of the former leader.

Col. Gadhafi was shot and wounded in Sirte and died in an ambulance on route to Misrata, said Misrata Military Council spokesman Fathi Bashagha. Western allies haven't confirmed Col. Gadhafi's death.

The council, which has been commanding the fighters leading the two-month siege of Sirte, reported around noon Thursday that Col. Gadhafi had been caught while their troops were conducting mopping-up operations around the coastal city. Libyan officials were doing a DNA analysis of what they believe is Col. Gadhafi's body to confirm its identity, according to Mr. Bashagha.

"Gadhafi is dead 100%. I saw his body with my own eyes," said the spokesman. "Gadhafi's death is the best news for Libya. The whole world should rejoice."

A member of the interim National Transitional Council also confirmed the news to journalists in Benghazi, according to Reuters. "We announce to the world that Moammar Gadhafi has been killed at the hands of the revolutionaries. We will announce the liberation of Libya within hours, maybe sooner," said Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the council.

Syria-based Arrai television station, a pro-Gadhafi station that has broadcast a series of defiant audio messages recently by the Libyan leader urging his supporters to fight the country's new rulers, said nothing about his possible death or capture. Instead it broadcast patriotic songs glorifying Col. Gadhafi and troops loyal to him.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization supreme commander will likely recommend an end to the alliance's air war over the country, according to an alliance official. Military officials said they still couldn't confirm his death.

But with the transitional government in control of Sirte, the path is open for Adm. James Stavridis, the Supreme Allied Commander, to recommend ending the NATO campaign, said the alliance official.

Because Sirte has fallen and if it is true that Gadhafi has been killed then it is very likely he will make the recommendation," the official said.

The news of Col. Gadhafi's death sparked widespread celebration in Tripoli. News readers on Libyan State Television repeated the earlier claim of his capture and announced the full liberation of the country.

Streets in downtown Tripoli were mobbed with people and mosques began celebratory prayers—all while the country's interim leaders cautioned that they couldn't confirm the news and tried to tamp expectations, given multiple previous reports that anti-Gadhafi fighters had either killed or captured members of the former leader's family.

The U.S. State Department early Thursday said it couldn't confirm the reports of Col Gadhafi's death.
"The State Department cannot at this time confirm media reports on the capture or killing of Moammar Gadhafi," a State Department spokeswoman said. There were several conflicting media reports from Libya about Mr. Gadhafi's fate.

Col. Gadhafi and his loyalists have been fighting for months against Libyans who denounce the dictator's rule. Media reports have suggested he was fleeing a region of Libya and was injured. If he were captured it, would mark a turning point in a country that has been under his rule for decades.

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