Libyan prime
minister confirms that former dictator is dead
Gaddafi tried to
flee in a convoy hit by American drone
Vehicles were also
shelled by Nato fighter jets...
... before being
driven back to his compound in Sirte
Gaddafi in final
attempt to flee before final push by rebels
'Found in a hole'
wearing military-style clothing, shouting 'Don't shoot'
Rebel forces
executed him in front of a baying mob
His body was
paraded through the streets of the city
Headshot: The body of former Libyan Leader
Muammar Gaddafi lies in an ambulance as it is brought to hospital in Misrata, a
bullet hole visible in his temple
Muammar Gaddafi has
been killed after Libyan rebels captured his stronghold in the city of Sirte,
it was confirmed today.
As news of his death
swept through the country and across the world, bloody images of the
69-year-old tyrant slumped across the legs of a revolutionary fighter emerged.
He had been dragged
from a storm drain where he was hiding before being shot in front of a baying
mob. Rebel fighters described him begging for mercy.
Libya's prime
minister Mahmoud Jibril this afternoon confirmed the former dictator was dead.
'We have been waiting
for this moment for a long time,' he said. 'Muammar Gaddafi has been killed'
The new was also
welcomed by David Cameron who said he was 'proud' of the role Britain had
played in protecting Libyan civilians.
Gaddafi is the first
leader to be killed in the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings that swept the
Middle East
The revolutionary
offensive began around 8am local time and progressed quickly into the town
centre.
Gaddafi had been
barricaded in with his heavily armed loyalists in the last few buildings they
held west of the central Green Square.
Nato airstrikes and
revolutionary ground forces concentrated on a compound in that area of the
town.
National
Transitional Council (NTC) soldiers said that a convoy of at least five
vehicles tried to leave the town in the early morning, but it came under
sustained fire - first from a Hellfire missile and then from French fighters
jets which were part of the Nato force.
The vehicles were
forced to return to the loyalist-controlled area as battle continued.
Hiding hole: A fighter points to the concrete
pipe where Gaddafi was reportedly found. Arabic graffiti in blue reads: 'This
is the place of Gaddafi, the rat. God is the greatest'
Brutal: There had been fierce fighting around
the drain before Gaddafi was finally killed. The body of a fighter can be seen
in the dust at the centre of the screen
Already a monument: As celebrations
continued, more and more graffiti appeared at the entrance to the drain where
the leader was eventually found
Gaddaffi, already
injured, was found a short time later in a large storm-water drain, and fighter
Mohammed Al Bibi told reporters that the toppled tyrant had pleaded 'Don't
shoot, don't shoot' as he attempted to surrender.
He had been wounded
in the legs. NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta said: 'He [Gaddafi] was also hit
in his head. There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.'
Mobile phone
footage, released shortly after the news of his capture broke, appears to show
a bloodied Gaddafi being manhandled.
Al Jazeera was also
repeatedly showing footage of what appeared to be Gaddafi's shirtless and
lifeless body being dragged along the ground.
The body was then
taken to the nearby city of Misrata, which Gaddafi's forces besieged for months
in one of the bloodiest fronts of the civil war.
Al-Arabiya TV showed
footage of Gaddafi's bloodied body carried on the top of a vehicle surrounded
by a large crowd chanting: 'The blood of the martyrs will not go in vain.'
Double celebration: Anti-Gaddafi fighters
celebrate the fall of Sirte, but the news soon came that the leader himself had
been captured
End of conflict: The fall of Sirte ends the
last significant resistance by forces loyal to the deposed leader, and ends a
two-month siege
All that's left: A lone revolutionary soldier
fires into the air in celebration. Behind him lies the ruins of a town all but
destroyed by fighting
Rebels said he had
been armed with a golden handgun when he was found and was wearing a khaki
uniform. Later images showed young revolutionary soldiers sheering an holding a
golden handgun.
Other soldiers say
they slapped the dead Gaddafi's face with a shoe to expres their disgust and
lack of respect.
The reports of
Gaddafi's capture came on the same day that revolutionary forces said that they
had taken control of Sirte - the leader's home town.
Celebrations: Thousands came out on the
streets of Tripoli as news of the dictator's demise spread
Joy: Many carried flags while some showed off
pictures of the dead dictator who had been in power for 40 years
Initial reports from
CNN and the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Gaddafi was in custody,
while Al Jazeera reported that a ‘big fish’ had been caught but did not provide
a name. Al Jazeera later joined Al-Arabiya in saying that Gaddafi had been
killed, but did not provide any further information.
Libya's transitional
government forces have taken full control of the city - the last stronghold of
Gaddafi loyalists. Gaddafi's presence there would explain why fighting had been
so intense in the past few weeks.
Al Jazeera reported
spontaneous celebration in cities like Benghazi and Tripoli, with people
cheering and shouting, car horns sounding and small arms fire being heard.
The official also
said the head of Gaddafi's armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr, was also
killed during the capture of the former Libyan leader.
The NTC said Sirte's
fall would be the point at which it would declare Libya liberated. The
transitional authorities have said a new government would then be formed within
a month, and the current administration would resign.
Golden trophy: Young Libyans hold a
gold-plated handgun belonging to Gaddafi, left, while a still from mobile phone
footage purportedly shows his bloodied body being carried in the street in
Sirte