Libyans say Qaddafi dead, U.S. yet to confirm
A National Transitional Council military chief told Al Jazeera the ousted Libyan leader died of wounds sustained during his capture near his hometown.
Even as Libya's interim government hailed the death of Muammar el-Qaddafi, neither the White House, Pentagon nor State Department could confirm his capture or killing after a gunbattle at the toppled leader's hometown of Surt.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar el-Qaddafi has been killed," Libya's interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril told a news conference in the capital, Tripoli.
Separately, a National Transitional Council military chief, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, told Al Jazeera that Muammar Qaddafi died from wounds sustained during his capture near Surt.
Reuters cited NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta earlier Thursday, who said Qaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs when NATO warplanes attacked a convoy when he was trying to flee.
NATO said its aircraft struck two vehicles around 8:30 a.m. local time Thursday in Libya. "NATO aircraft struck two pro-Qaddafi military vehicles which were part of a larger group maneuvering in the vicinity of Surt," a NATO official said. "These armed vehicles were conducting military operations and presented a clear threat to civilians."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, traveling to Pakistan on Thursday, said her department was still attempting to confirm the reports. "[We] can't confirm Qaddafi's capture or death but if it's true, it's a big sigh of relief," Clinton told FOX News. "One more obstacle removed but we still have a steep climb ahead," Clinton added.
Jibril said the council planned to announce an end to the conflict and the liberation of Libya either later Thursday or on Friday. Such a declaration would enable the war-torn country to begin a transition to democracy after Qaddafi's four-decade rule.
Libyan fighters declared victory in Surt on Thursday after weeks of fighting to capture the last major stronghold of loyalists to the toppled leader, the Associated Press reported.
It's been two months since Libyan rebels, backed by NATO air power, stormed the capital of Tripoli and hailed the prospective end of Qaddafi's four-decade rule. But Qaddafi's loyalists still put up fierce resistance in both Surt and the desert enclave of Bani Walid, which the rebels also seized earlier this week after sustaining heavy casualties.
NATO has said it will continue the air war over Libya so long as there are still threats to the civilian population there. On Tuesday, NATO spokesman Carmen Romero said the alliance was "very close to the end" of the seven-month military operation over Libya.