USA/FILE: Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Mo'tassim, caught in Sirte, held in Benghazi, sources say

Record ID: 703812

  • Title: USA/FILE: Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Mo'tassim, caught in Sirte, held in Benghazi, sources say
  • Date: 14th October 2011
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 21, 2009) (STATE DEPARTMENT TV) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON WELCOMING MO'TASSIM GADDAFI TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND EXCHANGING PLEASANTRIES
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA1KKGUPSXY9NCW4Y0077524TOV
  • Story Text: Muammar Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim was captured in Sirte on Wednesday (October 12) while trying to escape the town, the head of the Tripoli Revolutionary Council said.
    He was taken to Benghazi where he was questioned, other ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) sources based in Sirte and Benghazi said. They said he had been caught as he tried to leave Sirte in a car with a family.
    NTC sources had earlier told Reuters that Mo'tassim, formerly Libya's national security adviser, had been captured on Tuesday. He is so far the only member of Gaddafi's immediate family to be captured by the NTC forces who led the rebellion.
    NTC military sources said Mo'tassim was being held in the Boatneh military camp in Benghazi and that he was "exhausted" but uninjured.
    Another senior NTC military official told Reuters that Gaddafi's son had cropped short his usually longer hair in an attempt to disguise himself.
    Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's ousted leader of 42 years, and his most politically prominent son, Saif al-Islam, have been on the run since the fall of Tripoli on Aug. 23.
    Gaddafi's daughter Aisha, her brothers Hannibal and Mohammed, their mother Safi and several other family members fled to Algeria in August and have been there since. Another son, Saadi, is in Niger.
    Most of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, has been captured by fighters loyal to the NTC in recent days after weeks of siege. Interim government officials had said they believed Mo'tassim was hiding in the city's hospital.
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