Libya denies Gadhafi son slain
Source: Agencies |
August 6, 2011, Saturday
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A SENIOR Libyan government official has denied rebel reports that Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son was killed in a NATO airstrike on the western town of Zlitan.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim says Khamis Gadhafi is alive and spoke to Libyan government officials to confirm his well-being.
Rebels in the eastern opposition stronghold of Benghazi said Khamis was among 33 troops killed in a NATO strike early yesterday on a government operations center in Zlitan.
NATO says there was bombing around Zlitan on Thursday. An alliance spokesman in Brussels said yesterday that NATO could not confirm the report of Khamis' death.
However, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report of Khamis's death was a ploy to cover up the killing of a civilian family.
"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 Khamis Gadhafi in Zlitan to cover up their killing," he said in Tripoli.
NATO said in a statement that it was aware of the reports that Khamis had been killed, but it did not confirm his death. It said alliance strikes on Thursday hit an ammunition depot and military police facility in Zlitan, which is the main front of fighting between rebels and Gadhafi's troops, 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli.
Mohammed al-Rajali, a spokesman for the rebel leadership in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi, said there were unconfirmed reports Khamis was among the 33 troops killed.
If true, the death of the 27-year-old Khamis would be a significant blow to the government's efforts to fight off the rebels. He commands the 32nd Brigade, also known simply as the Khamis Brigade, one of the country's best trained and equipped units.
Khamis' troops have been fighting rebels in and around the western town of Zlitan for months. The town is a major obstacle in the path of rebels from the nearby city of Misrata trying to make their way to the capital, Tripoli. The civil war has largely devolved into a stalemate - both at Zlitan and further east, around the oil port of Brega.
This isn't the first time Khamis has been reported dead by rebel forces.
In late March, rumors circulated that he was killed in an airstrike, only to be shown days later on state television attending a celebration in his honor at his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
Gadhafi's sons and a daughter have all played roles in their father's regime, some in diplomatic or business roles. His sons Mutassim, Khamis and al-Saadi all head military brigades.
A third son, Seif al-Islam, has become the Western face of the regime.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim says Khamis Gadhafi is alive and spoke to Libyan government officials to confirm his well-being.
Rebels in the eastern opposition stronghold of Benghazi said Khamis was among 33 troops killed in a NATO strike early yesterday on a government operations center in Zlitan.
NATO says there was bombing around Zlitan on Thursday. An alliance spokesman in Brussels said yesterday that NATO could not confirm the report of Khamis' death.
However, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report of Khamis's death was a ploy to cover up the killing of a civilian family.
"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 Khamis Gadhafi in Zlitan to cover up their killing," he said in Tripoli.
NATO said in a statement that it was aware of the reports that Khamis had been killed, but it did not confirm his death. It said alliance strikes on Thursday hit an ammunition depot and military police facility in Zlitan, which is the main front of fighting between rebels and Gadhafi's troops, 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli.
Mohammed al-Rajali, a spokesman for the rebel leadership in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi, said there were unconfirmed reports Khamis was among the 33 troops killed.
If true, the death of the 27-year-old Khamis would be a significant blow to the government's efforts to fight off the rebels. He commands the 32nd Brigade, also known simply as the Khamis Brigade, one of the country's best trained and equipped units.
Khamis' troops have been fighting rebels in and around the western town of Zlitan for months. The town is a major obstacle in the path of rebels from the nearby city of Misrata trying to make their way to the capital, Tripoli. The civil war has largely devolved into a stalemate - both at Zlitan and further east, around the oil port of Brega.
This isn't the first time Khamis has been reported dead by rebel forces.
In late March, rumors circulated that he was killed in an airstrike, only to be shown days later on state television attending a celebration in his honor at his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
Gadhafi's sons and a daughter have all played roles in their father's regime, some in diplomatic or business roles. His sons Mutassim, Khamis and al-Saadi all head military brigades.
A third son, Seif al-Islam, has become the Western face of the regime.
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