Libyan government denies Gaddafi son death

PanARMENIAN.Net - The government of Muammar Gaddafi denied a rebel report on Friday, August 5, that a NATO air strike had killed the Libyan leader's powerful son Khamis, commander of one of the government's most loyal and best-equipped units, Reuters reported.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report of Khamis Gaddafi's death was a ploy to cover up the killing of a civilian family in Zlitan, a battlefront city where Gaddafi forces are trying to halt the rebel advance on Tripoli.

"It's false news. This is a dirty trick to cover up their crime in Zlitan and the killing of the al-Marabit family. They invented the news about Mr Khamis Gaddafi in Zlitan to cover up their killing," he told Reuters.

A rebel spokesman said the air strike had killed 32 Gaddafi loyalists in Zlitan, where Khamis Gaddafi's elite 32nd Brigade is believed to have been leading the stand to defend the approaches to Tripoli, 160 km (100 miles) away.

"We have information that in Zlitan, a leadership building was attacked by NATO and 32 Gaddafi men were killed, among them his son, Khamis," the rebel spokesman said.

NATO was not able to confirm the report of Khamis Gaddafi's death. NATO said on Thursday that it had struck at a command-and-control target in the Zlitan area.

"We cannot confirm anything right now, because we don't have people on the ground," an alliance official said. "But we are trying to find out what we can."

If confirmed, the death of Khamis would be a severe blow to his father's campaign to resist a six-month-old uprising and remain in power.