Libya denies report of Gaddafi son's death

Opposition says Khamis Gaddafi killed Saturday when plane deliberately crashed into family compound in Tripoli

Ynet|Published: 03.21.11 , 18:52

Media outlets affiliated with the Libyan opposition reported Monday that the son of Muammar Gaddafi, Khamis Gaddafi, was killed in a suicide attack on the Bab al-Azizia barracks in Tripoli.

According to the reports, which were denied by the Libyan government, on Saturday a Libyan Air Force pilot deliberately crashed his jet into the Gaddafi family compound.

Khamis was rushed to the intensive care unit of a Tripoli hospital, where he reportedly died from his wounds a few hours later, the reports said.

The Algerian newspaper Chorouk, citing a report on the Libyan opposite website Al-Manara, claimed that the pilot was ordered to bomb rebels in the Ajdabiya region. However, the report said, the plane suddenly changed course and headed towards the Bab al-Azizia barracks in the Libyan capital.

Khamis (32), Gaddafi's sixth son, is the commander of the elite 32nd brigade of the Libyan armed forces.

A senior American military official told Reuters Monday that the results of a British airstrike on Gaddafi's compound over the weekend were not clear, adding that the attack did not directly target the Libyan leader but was aimed at hurting the regime's military capabilities.

However, on Monday British Defense Secretary Liam Fox suggested that Gaddafi could be directly attacked. "Mission accomplished would mean the Libyan people free to control their own destiny," he said.

"This is very clear - the international community wants his regime to end and wants the Libyan people to control for themselves their own country."