Libyan forces 'capture Gaddafi'

[Seshmeister]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15385955

Commanders for Libya's transitional authorities say they have captured ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The reports came after transitional forces claimed control of Sirte, Col Gaddafi's birthplace, following weeks of fierce fighting.

Col Gaddafi is said to be wounded. There is no independent confirmation of the reports.

The colonel was toppled in August after 42 years in power. The International Criminal Court is seeking his arrest.

"He's captured. He's wounded in both legs," National Transitional Council (NTC) official Abdel Majid told Reuters news agency.

"He's been taken away by ambulance."

AFP news agency quoted another NTC official, Mohamed Leith, as saying that Col Gaddafi had been captured in Sirte and was "seriously wounded" but still breathing.

A soldier who says he captured Muammar Gaddafi tod the BBC the colonel had shouted: "Don't shoot!"

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli says although the capture is unconfirmed, ships and cars have been sounding their horns in the capital and guns are being fired in celebration.

[Blaze]

Muammar Gaddafi 'killed' in gun battle
Reports say that toppled leader and the head of his armed forces have both been killed, following the fall of Sirte.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/291720_220879087977915_133738650025293_630799_1878 592345_n.jpg

[Blaze]

A senior NTC official has said that Muammar Gaddafi has died of his wounds after being captured near Sirte.

Another NTC commander said that Moussa Ibrahim, former spokesman for Muammar Gaddafi's fallen government, was also captured near the Sirte.

Abdul Hakim Al Jalil, commander of the 11th brigade, also said he had seen the body of the chief of Gaddafi's armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr.

"I've seen him with my own eyes," he said and showed Reuters a picture of Jabr's body.

"Moussa Ibrahim was also captured and both of them were transferred to (our) operations room."

Earlier, Jamal abu-Shaalah, a field commander of NTC, told Al Jazeera that the toppled leader had been seized, but it was not clear whether he was dead or alive.

"He's captured. He's wounded in both legs ... He's been taken away by ambulance," Abdel Majid, a senior NTC military official said.

The news came shortly after NTC claimed capturing Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, after weeks of fighting.

NATO and the US state department said it cannot confirm any reports. Meanwhile in Benghazi, crowds gathered in the streets to start celebrating the reports of Gaddafi's death.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111020111520869621.html

[Seshmeister]

42 years is a pretty good innings.

[Blaze]

[Seshmeister]

Everyone complained about Obama not releasing the picture of Bin Laden's body but now they are all complaining about seeing pictures of the dead Gaddafi.

[Nitro Express]

Everyone complained about Obama not releasing the picture of Bin Laden's body but now they are all complaining about seeing pictures of the dead Gaddafi.

It's just the wimps that complain. I want proof. I will believe the whole Bin Laden thing when they actually release some proof they got him. No photos and the military people who were involved in the operation all die in a helicopter crash.

Our president and most our politicians are pathological liars. I'm amazed people still take these guys at their word and not only that, want to give them more power over us.

[Blaze]

What a terribly vain creature he was. He Waved about a golden gun when captured and taking time to trim and dye his bread during a heated conflict while his "beloved people" died around him. Quartering him and feeding him to the work dogs would be too good for him :(

[Blaze]

2 min 20 sec ago - Libya
A transcript of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s comments on the death of Muammar Gaddafi:

Before we begin, let me say a few words about this morning’s news headlines.

You have all seen reports of the death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the end of fighting in Sirte and other cities.

Clearly, this day marks a historic transition for Libya.

In the coming days, we will witness scenes of celebration, as well as grief for those who lost so much.

Yet let us recognize, immediately, that this is only the end of the beginning. The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges.

Now is the time for all Libyans to come together. Libyans can only realize the promise of the future through national unity and reconciliation.

Combatants on all sides must lay down their arms in peace.

This is the time for healing and rebuilding, for generosity of spirit, not for revenge.

As Libya’s transitional authorities prepare the way for elections and take the many other steps toward building their new nation, inclusion and pluralism must be the watchwords.

All Libyans must be able to recognize themselves in the nation’s government and leadership. The high hopes sustained through the long days of revolution and conflict must translate into opportunities and justice for all.

I have just spoken to my special representative for Libya, Mr. Ian Martin in Tripoli. The new United Nations mission to Libya is on the ground and ready to assist Libya and its people along the path ahead.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Libya

[Blaze]

Irony Alert!
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/files/gaddafihole625_0.jpg
A Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter looks through a large concrete pipe where ousted Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi was allegedly captured, with a dead loyalist gunmen in the foreground, in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte on October 20, 2011. A Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) commander had told AFP that Kadhafi was captured as his hometown Sirte was falling, adding that the ousted strongman was badly wounded. Arabic graffiti in blue reads: 'This is the place of Kadhafi, the rat.. God is the greatest.'

[chefcraig]

Everyone complained about Obama not releasing the picture of Bin Laden's body but now they are all complaining about seeing pictures of the dead Gaddafi.

It is odd that he resembles Elvis Presley in several of them. Oh, and this...

Gruesome Photos of Dead Gaddafi Circulate On Twitter: Beware of Malware

mashable.com (http://mashable.com/2011/10/20/gaddafi-photo/)

As reports of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s death circulate on the Internet, so is a gruesome cellphone photo of what appears to be his severely wounded body and another that appears to be his dead body. Both are likely opportunities for spammers with bad intentions.

The first photo was distributed by the news agency AFP after commanders for Libya’s transitional military, the National Transitional Council (NTC), said they had captured Gaddafi after invading his hometown of Sirte. On Thursday, an NTC spokesperson told the New York Times Gaddafi had been killed, but the U.S. State Department had still not confirmed his death as of 10:00 a.m. ET.

Celebrations in Libya and a flood of Twitter updates are treating the announcement of Gaddafi’s death as authentic — including a slew of sharing of the photos allegedly showing his capture.

In the past, photos like this — including alleged photos of Osama Bin Laden’s body — have been easy vehicles for malicious links. One reason is search engines decide which links are legitimate partly by looking at user behavior. When news like Gaddafi’s death breaks, however, there is no history for them to rely on and malicious links mascarading as news can more easily rank high in search results. Another reason is that people often seek such images from unfamiliar sources. Websites or Twitter messages promise to link to a breaking topic and then lead instead to another site or virus. The Gaddafi photo is a prime candidate for this type of malicious links, so it’s wise to use caution when clicking.

Because of the photo’s violent nature, we have decided not to post it in this article. There is another photo that has been shown on news network Al Jazeera (Warning: this links to graphic content) of Gaddafi’s body that could be susceptible to similar scams.

So are the photos fake? An NTC official told Reuters that the apparently dead man in the Al Jazeera photo is Gaddafi. But as CNN notes, “Much caution should be used with these reports because false information has come out previously.”

[BITEYOASS]

What a terribly vain creature he was. He Waved about a GOLDEN GUN when captured and taking time to trim and dye his bread during a heated conflict while his "beloved people" died around him. Quartering him and feeding him to the work dogs would be too good for him :(

Oh shit, you made me do it...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d1lt9Iw8Pw

[Blaze]

:thumb:
I do say, I did done foorgotten! Good call man!

[Blaze]

Tripolitanian Libyan
by AliTweel
When your funeral becomes a national day of celebration, you know you've done some bad things in your life.

Cong"rat"ulations Libya!

jennnsolo Jen Lasher
@AliTweel Cong"rat"ulations. :)

[Blaze]

Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi called the rebels who rose up against his 42-years of one-man rule "rats," but in the end it was he who was captured cowering in a drainage pipe full of rubbish and filth.

"He called us rats, but look where we found him," said Ahmed Al Sahati, a 27-year-old government fighter, standing next to two stinking drainage pipes under a six-lane highway.

Government fighters, video evidence and the scenes of sheer carnage nearby told the story of the dictator's final hours.

Shortly before dawn prayers on Thursday, Gaddafi surrounded by a few dozen loyal bodyguards and accompanied by the head of his now non-existent army Abu Bakr Younis Jabr broke out of the two-month siege of Sirte and made a break for the west.

But they did not get far.

NATO said its aircraft struck military vehicles belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces near Sirte at about 8:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. British time) on Thursday, but the alliance said it was unsure whether the strikes had killed Gaddafi.

Fifteen pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns lay burnt out, smashed and smouldering next to an electricity sub station some 20 metres from the main road, about two miles west of Sirte.

They had clearly been hit by a force far beyond anything the motley army the former rebels have assembled during eight months of revolt to overthrow the once feared leader.

But there was no bomb crater, indicating the strike may have been carried out by a helicopter gunship, or had been strafed by a fighter jet.

Inside the trucks still in their seats sat the charred skeletal remains of drivers and passengers killed instantly by the strike. Other bodies lay mutilated and contorted strewn in the grass. Some 50 bodies in all.

Gaddafi himself and a handful of his men escaped death and appeared to have ran through a stand of trees towards the main road and hid in the two drainage pipes.

But a group of government fighters were on their tail.

"At first we fired at them with anti-aircraft guns, but it was no use," said Salem Bakeer, while being feted by his comrades near the road. "Then we went in on foot.

"One of Gaddafi's men came out waving his rifle in the air and shouting surrender, but as soon as he saw my face he started shooting at me," he told Reuters.

"Then I think Gaddafi must have told them to stop. 'My master is here, my master is here', he said, 'Muammar Gaddafi is here and he is wounded'," said Bakeer.

"We went in and brought Gaddafi out. He was saying 'what's wrong? What's wrong? What's going on?'. Then we took him and put him in the car," Bakeer said.

At the time of capture, Gaddafi was already wounded with gunshots to his leg and to his back, Bakeer said.

Other government fighters who said they took part in Gaddafi's capture, separately confirmed Bakeer's version of events, though one said the man who ruled Libya for 42 years was shot and wounded at the last minute by one of his own men.

"One of Muammar Gaddafi's guards shot him in the chest," said Omran Jouma Shawan.

Army chief Jabr was also captured alive, Bakeer said. NTC officials later announced he was dead.

Fallen electricity cables partially covered the entrance to the pipes and the bodies of three men, apparently Gaddafi bodyguards lay at the entrance to one end, one in shorts probably due to a bandaged wound on his leg.

Four more bodies lay at the other end of the pipes. All black men, one had his brains blown out, another man had been decapitated, his dreadlocked head lying beside his torso.

Joyous government fighters fired their weapons in the air, shouted "Allahu Akbar" and posed for pictures. Others wrote graffiti on the concrete parapets of the highway.

"Gaddafi was captured here," said one simply.

From there Gaddafi was taken to the nearby city of Sirte where he and his dwindling band of die-hard supporters had made a last stand under a rain of missile and artillery fire in a desperate two-month siege.

Video footage showed Gaddafi, dazed and wounded, but still clearly alive and gesturing with his hands as he was dragged from a pick-up truck by a crowd of angry jostling group of government soldiers who hit him and pulled his hair.

He then appeared to fall to the ground and was enveloped by the crowd. NTC officials later announced Gaddafi had died of his wounds after capture.

(Writing by Jon Hemming Editing by Maria Golovnina)

[Blaze]

A selection of quotes from Obama's news conference at the White House:

This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny in a new and democratic Libya.
"Just one year ago, the notion of a free Libya seemed impossible, but then the Libyan people rose up and demanded their rights.

"This is a momentous day in the history of Libya, the dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted.

"Across the Arab world, citizens have stood up to claim their rights. Youth are delivering a powerful rebuke to dictatorship. And those leaders who try to deny their dignity will not succeed.

"For the region, today's events prove once more that the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end."

Yes, yes! Mr. President, yes, yes! ~`~

[sadaist]

Reuters) Video footage showed Gaddafi, dazed and wounded, but still clearly alive and gesturing with his hands as he was dragged from a pick-up truck by a crowd of angry jostling group of government soldiers who hit him and pulled his hair.

He then appeared to fall to the ground and was enveloped by the crowd. NTC officials later announced Gaddafi had died of his wounds after capture.

(Writing by Jon Hemming Editing by Maria Golovnina)



Yes! Whew. We should feel much, much safer & secure with these refined, compassionate & dignified people now in charge instead of the savage Qaddafi.

[sadaist]

Arabic graffiti in blue reads: 'This is the place of Kadhafi, the rat.. God is the greatest.'


LOL. Would this be the very same god that allowed him to be in power for over 40 years? Yep, the greatest!

[FORD]

Was that actually Ghadaffi in that last video? It looked more like Klaus Meine from the Scorpions. I know their albums have pretty much sucked since the mid 80's but dragging him out of a truck and beating him to death seems a little over the top.

[sadaist]

Was that actually Ghadaffi in that last video? It looked more like Klaus Meine from the Scorpions. I know their albums have pretty much sucked since the mid 80's but dragging him out of a truck and beating him to death seems a little over the top.



:lmao:

[hambon4lif]

Was that actually Ghadaffi in that last video? It looked more like Klaus Meine from the Scorpions. I know their albums have pretty much sucked since the mid 80's but dragging him out of a truck and beating him to death seems a little over the top.Bullshit!! I wasted 9 fucking bucks on a copy of "Savage Amusement"

He got what he deserved.

[Nitro Express]

Someone is going to now control a shit load of gold and oil. It probably won't be the people of Libya. It never ceases to amaze me the places that require military force to remove a dictator are rich in oil and resources. Suddenly these guys who have been in power for years need to go and they all are sitting on a shit load of oil.

[Nitro Express]

Four more bodies lay at the other end of the pipes. All black men, one had his brains blown out, another man had been decapitated, his dreadlocked head lying beside his torso.


Dreadlocks? Gaddafi had a Jamaican reggae band for bodyguards? Yo Mon. Don't shoot! We's inspecting the pipes for cracks and leakage. Nobody in dehr. Ire ire mon! Have some happy smoke mon. Chill mon.

[Nickdfresh]

Dreadlocks? Gaddafi had a Jamaican reggae band for bodyguards? Yo Mon. Don't shoot! We's inspecting the pipes for cracks and leakage. Nobody in dehr. Ire ire mon! Have some happy smoke mon. Chill mon.

Ghaddafi relied heavily on African mercenaries for his "army" towards the end....


It's nice when a cunt gets his cunt'uppance...

[Blaze]

LOL. Would this be the very same god that allowed him to be in power for over 40 years? Yep, the greatest!
Everything and all is God's.

[sadaist]

What is lost in all of this is it was a UNITED STATES predator drone that fired on his convoy, destroying vehicles & killing many, which cause Ghadafi to get out & run to the drainage pipes where he was ultimately dragged out of & brutally killed.

We sure went a long ways from just a few days of enforcing a no-fly zone to protect the "innocent civilians" to actually being responsible for his death.

[Nickdfresh]

And a French Armée de l'Air Mirage...

[Hardrock69]

HAHA...MOTHERFUCKER IS DEAD!


:lmao:

:lol:

[Green Manalishi]

HAHA...MOTHERFUCKER IS DEAD!


:lmao:

:lol:

Good Riddance Shitbag !

I can remember back in the glorious '80's when President Reagan ordered the USAF to drop one on his house ...and they did - leveling his house and killing one of his kids . Too bad so sad .

He won't be missed .

[ashstralia]

Someone is going to now control a shit load of gold and oil. It probably won't be the people of Libya. It never ceases to amaze me the places that require military force to remove a dictator are rich in oil and resources.

yeah, what happens now? another even nuttier theocracy?

[Satan]

HELLo kids!

It's a great day to be the Devil. I'm now taking requests on how I should torment my latest "guest".

Any suggestions? http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/teufel/d010.gif

[Seshmeister]

Our president and most our politicians are pathological liars. I'm amazed people still take these guys at their word and not only that, want to give them more power over us.

Assuming that they are lying all the time is just as irrational and silly as assuming that they always tell the truth.

[Nitro Express]

Assuming that they are lying all the time is just as irrational and silly as assuming that they always tell the truth.

Liars who use crises to sell solutions that only enrich themselves and their banking and corporate buddies. They would rather continue to print US Dollars because it's less trouble and easier wealth than actually running a real economy building things. I figure in five years on this current program Alabama will probably have cheaper labor than China. That's what has rallied the stock market even when we are losing the real economy. Then after they have crashed it they buy it up cheap.

This is not possible with just banks and corporations. The politicians have to enable it to happen. Not exactly the people I trust nor do I want to give anymore power to. Normal people don't lie that much. Only crooked people do. Pathological liars they are. Of course they think they have their bailout. They think they can get away with it and not only that, enjoy screwing us. They love it. It's fun for them.

[Blaze]

What is lost in all of this is it was a UNITED STATES predator drone that fired on his convoy, destroying vehicles & killing many, which cause Ghadafi to get out & run to the drainage pipes where he was ultimately dragged out of & brutally killed.

We sure went a long ways from just a few days of enforcing a no-fly zone to protect the "innocent civilians" to actually being responsible for his death.

I guess you did not view the video of the adrenalin pumped mob that killed him with the just on or two hits each and them the young man who blew his load. Mobs are a dangerous thing. Especially war weary mobs. Gadaffi was suicidal. Just like some nut cases choose death by cop. Gadaffii chose death by incitement.

[binnie]

No real interest in seeing pictures/vids of this.

Focus on the execution - which is what it was - simply detract from the fact that we now have anohter middle eastern country which is destabilized. Is this a move to 'democracy'? Really?

Let's hope, for the sake of Libians, it is not as traumatic as I fear it might be.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

When the news broke yesterday the BBC were showing footage of his corpse being dragged around the streets, but saying things like "these are still unconfirmed reports" over the top of it. I'd have thought the footage of his corpse was pretty conclusive.

On a side salad...in regards to the footage being plastered all over terrestrial TV at 2.30 in the afternoon...is it really neccesarry for us to see all the gory details or is that just rubber necking? I remember Sky following Alexader McQueen's corpse around live when he died and saying things like "we would like to just take a moment to pay our respects to Mr McQueen" whilst it happened. You want to pay your respects? Don't show the world his fucking corpse.Obviously, that's a difficult kettle of fish compared to Gaddafi (the whole "respect the dead" thing can only go so far"), but I still think the only real reason to insist on showing all the graphic details is to try and get one up on rival news organisations. Cut it out and just tell us the facts. Thank you, that is all.

[Satan]

Seems that Senator Grandpa Simpson McCain is all upset that the Libyan rebels killed Mo and didn't keep him alive so he could be tried in the International Criminal Court.

Why is it that international courts are good enough for Gadaffi or Milosonofabitch, but not a single member of the BCE?

Isn't a war criminal a war criminal?

[jhale667]

Seems that Senator Grandpa Simpson McCain is all upset that the Libyan rebels killed Mo and didn't keep him alive so he could be tried in the International Criminal Court.

Why is it that international courts are good enough for Gadaffi or Milosonofabitch, but not a single member of the BCE?

Isn't a war criminal a war criminal?


You've got a point there, Scratch....

[chefcraig]

Let's hope, for the sake of Lesbians, it is not as traumatic as I fear it might be.

Fixed that for ya, bin. http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/love/lesbian-lovers-149.gif (http://freesmileyface.net/free-love-smileys.html)

[sadaist]

I am totally against the whole unmarked hidden grave thing. I realize they don't want people to go & pay homage to a tyrant, yadda yadda yadda. But who the fuck are "they" to decide what secrets to keep from everyone else? If someone wants to go & piss on his gravesite they should be allowed to. if some distant family member or friend that he was kind to wants to go & pay respects they should be allowed to.

[FORD]

Actually, they can go pay their respects right now, at the mall. No, I'm not kidding.......

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BG&Date=20111021&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=110210404&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0&Gadhafi-body-stashed-shopping-center-freezer
Libyans line up today to view Moammar Gadhafi's body at a shopping centre in Misrata, Libya. / AP Photo / Manu Brabo


MISRATA, Libya -- Moammar Gadhafi's blood-streaked body was stashed in a commercial freezer at a shopping center today as Libyans waited in line outside for a chance to see him and authorities tried to figure out where to bury the longtime dictator.

The makeshift provisions for the corpse reflected the disorganization and confusion that has surrounded Gadhafi's death. Accounts of how he died after being captured by revolutionary fighters remained contradictory, and the top U.N. rights official raised concerns he was shot to death in custody.

His burial had been planned today, in accordance with Islamic traditions calling for quick interment. But the interim government delayed it, saying the circumstances of his death still had to be determined. Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam also said authorities are "debating right now what the best place is to bury him."

An Associated Press correspondent saw the body at the shopping center in the coastal city of Misrata, home of the fighters who killed the ousted leader a day earlier in his hometown of Sirte.

The body, stripped to the waist and wearing beige trousers, was laid on a bloodied mattress on the floor of an emptied-out room-sized freezer where restaurants and stores in the center normally keep perishables. A bullet hole was visible on the left side of his head -- with the bullet still lodged in his head, according to the presiding doctor -- and in the center of his chest and stomach. His hair was matted and dried blood streaks his arms and head.

Outside the shopping center, residents waited in line for their chance enter the freezer and have their picture taken with Gadhafi's body. Different visiting hours have been set for women and children and for men.

"This is the expected end for a tyrant," said Abdel-Atie al-Tabouli, one of the main guards outside the freezer.

Bashir Ali, a commander from the Misrata military operations room, said the burial would be in a secret location to avoid revenge attacks. "Gadhafi hurt a lot of people and many will want to find his body for revenge, so we need to make sure he is not found," he said.

The 69-year-old Gadhafi was captured wounded but alive, and there have been contradictory accounts of how and when he received his fatal wounds. New video emerged Friday of a bloodied Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by the fighters who pulled him out of a drainage tunnel following clashes in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday.

"More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling the images of Gadhafi's last moments very disturbing.

Gadhafi's capture came when revolutionary fighters overwhelmed him and his last die-hard loyalists in Sirte, seizing control of the regime's last major bastion after a heavily fought, weekslong siege. Exact details of his final hours remain unclear.

According to most accounts from fighters on the ground and their commanders, Gadhafi was in a convoy trying to flee, when NATO airstrikes hit two of the vehicles. Then revolutionary forces moved in and clashed with the loyalists with Gadhafi for several hours. Gadhafi and his bodyguards fled their cars and took refuge in a nearby drainage tunnel. Fighters pursued and clashed with them, and in the end, Gadhafi emerged from tunnel and was grabbed by fighters.

New footage posted on Facebook shows the moments when Gadhafi was dragged by revolutionary fighters up the hill to their vehicles. The young men screaming "Moammar, you dog!" beat the confused-looking Gadhafi, who wipes at blood covering the left side of his head and neck and left shoulder.

Gadhafi gestures to the young men to be patient, and says "What's going on?" as he wipes fresh blood from his temple and glances at his palm. A young fighter later is shown carrying a boot and screaming, "This is Moammar's shoe! This is Moammar's shoe! Victory! Victory!"

The next point that most accounts agree upon is that Gadhafi died about 30-40 minutes later as he was being taken in an ambulance to Misrata. A coroners report said he bled to death from a shot to the head, and he also had shots to the chest and belly. Accounts have been confused, however, over where and how those fatal shots were suffered.

Most commanders and fighters who were at the scene with whom The Associated Press has spoken say that when he was captured, Gadhafi had already suffered the wounds that would lead to his death. That would mean that in the video, Gadhafi would have a bullet imbedded in his head, another in his chest and a third near his belly button. Yet, he is seen upright, talking and has the strength to struggle back, and there is no blood on his chest or belly. At one point, his shirt is pulled up to his chest, but no belly wound is visible.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril gave a different account Thursday, saying the fatal wounds were suffered later, when Gadhafi had been taken to the ambulance. As it set off for Misrata, the vehicle was caught in crossfire between revolutionaries and Gadhafi loyalists.

Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam mirrored this version today, saying the wounds came later, after his capture. "It seems like the bullet was a stray and it could have come from the revolutionaries or the loyalists," Shammam said. "The problem is everyone around the event is giving his own story."

But other fighters, commanders and witnesses have not spoken of any such crossfire or further clashes. Siraq al-Hamali, a 21- year-old fighter, told AP that he rode in the vehicle carrying Gadhafi as it left Sirte and did not mention coming under fire. He said by the time they reached a field hospital 20 miles (30 kilometers) outside Sirte, Gadhafi had died of wounds he already had.

"I really wanted him alive and everybody did, but he was destined to die and we could do nothing to change that," he said. "He won't be missed, and that's all for the best and let's get on with our lives."

One of Gadhafi's sons, Muatassim, was also killed in Sirte, but the fate of Gadhafi's one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam was unclear. Some Libyan officials said he had been wounded and was being held in a hospital in Zlitan. But Hakim al-Kisher, a local military official at the Zlitan hospital, denied that.

Many Libyans awoke after a night of jubilant celebration and celebratory gunfire with hope for the future but also concern that their new rulers, the National Transitional Council, might repeat the mistakes of the past.

Khaled Almslaty, a 42-year-old clothing vendor in Tripoli, said he wished Gadhafi had been captured alive.

"But I believe he got what he deserved because if we prosecuted him for the smallest of his crimes, he would be punished by death," he said. "Now we hope the NTC will accelerate the formation of a new government and . . . won't waste time on irrelevant conflicts and competing for authority and positions."

Thousands of people converged for Friday prayers on Martrys' Square, formerly known as Green Square and the site from which Gadhafi made many defiant speeches trying to rally support as the uprising against him turned into a civil war.

One group of men danced and hoisted the country's new tricolor flag, chanting slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad, who also faces an uprising against his rule as part of the Arab Spring that has also seen the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia ousted.

"It's your turn Bashar, zenga, zenga, dar, dar," they chanted.

"Zenga, zenga, dar, dar" is Arabic for "alley by alley, house by house," a phrase used by Gadhafi in his last months in power, referring to how his forces would hunt down those who rose up against him.

Women, who wore headscarves and prayed in a separate section, hoisted a banner that said, "It's a new morning without the colonel," using Gadhafi's military designation.

The governing National Transitional Council said interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil will formally declare liberation on Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution began in mid-February. The NTC has said it will form a new interim government within a month of liberation and will hold elections within eight months.

Gamel reported from Tripoli. Associated Press' Hadeel al-Shalchi in Cairo contributed to this report.

[Nickdfresh]

I am totally against the whole unmarked hidden grave thing. I realize they don't want people to go & pay homage to a tyrant, yadda yadda yadda. But who the fuck are "they" to decide what secrets to keep from everyone else? If someone wants to go & piss on his gravesite they should be allowed to. if some distant family member or friend that he was kind to wants to go & pay respects they should be allowed to.

Seems to have worked well in the cases of Hitler and Bin Laden...

[sadaist]

Actually, they can go pay their respects right now, at the mall. No, I'm not kidding.......


Yeah. Fucking sick. I love the hypocrisy of the guys that caught him. They were screaming about him being barbaric and look how they finished him off.

Oh well. At least now we are all spared the enormous spectacle that would have been an international trial. But I'm not convinced any of these Arab Spring countries are going to be better off. What's worse...the tyrant you know? Or the tyrant you have yet to discover?

[Blaze]

Yeah. Fucking sick. I love the hypocrisy of the guys that caught him. They were screaming about him being barbaric and look how they finished him off.

Oh well. At least now we are all spared the enormous spectacle that would have been an international trial. But I'm not convinced any of these Arab Spring countries are going to be better off. What's worse...the tyrant you know? Or the tyrant you have yet to discover?
I pray one day you have to deal with a war weary, adrenalin doused crowd... Because you don't grasp real world opps, that was not a video game.


Suicide by cop is pretty common. He choose to wave the golden gun. He choose to not surrender when many people were hunting him. A mob is a dangerous thing, he was barely alive when it descended. I am surprised he was in one piece after the lynching. That was a feat of a commander to be able to reclaim his body from a adrenalin pumped, war weary, lynch mob

Dan Hadan ‎@ Julia, Qaddafi was captured alive, though wounded, and then killed

And like I said Dan, It was a feat that the commander was able to reclaim Gadaffii's body from the lynch mob. Had I been there I would have crushed his head with my boot and sliced his ear off his dead corpse for a keepsake.

https://www.facebook.com/LibyanYouthMovement/posts/221387877927036

[Seshmeister]

It's a kind of odd moral relativism listening to people having a fit about Gaddafi being shot while at the same time seemingly quite happy for families who live near terrorist suspects being blown to bits by US drones.

I guess the big difference is what is shown on TV and what isn't.