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Banned
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.
The elite 32nd brigade under command of Colonel Ghaddafi's youngest son Khamis is reportedly around Tripoli to crack down the protests. Khamis during the last years has been built up as Libya's major agent of fear.
At a first sight, Khamis al-Ghaddafi is a handsome, young gentleman; well educated and not involved in the sex and party affairs that have tarnished the image of his elder brothers.
But looks can lie. Khamis - the fifth son by papa Ghaddafi's second wife who in 2007 obtained a PhD in military sciences in Moscow - heads Libya's most feared elite brigade.
The Khamis Brigade is typically based close to Benghazi; Libya's second city that has been in the hands of protesters since Sunday. Rumours of an advance of the "Khamis Brigade" at several occasions have caused panic among Benghazi residents during the last few days.
But little has been seen of Khamis and his feared brigade during the popular uprising in Libya so far. There have even been rumours he is abroad.
According to Spanish news reports, Khamis since April 2010 has been inscribed in the Madrid IE Business School - under the name of "Khamis Muammer" - where he studies to obtain a business master. The school says Spanish authorities are aware of Khamis' regular presence in Madrid. The report seems credible.
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."
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.
The elite 32nd brigade under command of Colonel Ghaddafi's youngest son Khamis is reportedly around Tripoli to crack down the protests. Khamis during the last years has been built up as Libya's major agent of fear.
At a first sight, Khamis al-Ghaddafi is a handsome, young gentleman; well educated and not involved in the sex and party affairs that have tarnished the image of his elder brothers.
But looks can lie. Khamis - the fifth son by papa Ghaddafi's second wife who in 2007 obtained a PhD in military sciences in Moscow - heads Libya's most feared elite brigade.
The Khamis Brigade is typically based close to Benghazi; Libya's second city that has been in the hands of protesters since Sunday. Rumours of an advance of the "Khamis Brigade" at several occasions have caused panic among Benghazi residents during the last few days.
But little has been seen of Khamis and his feared brigade during the popular uprising in Libya so far. There have even been rumours he is abroad.
According to Spanish news reports, Khamis since April 2010 has been inscribed in the Madrid IE Business School - under the name of "Khamis Muammer" - where he studies to obtain a business master. The school says Spanish authorities are aware of Khamis' regular presence in Madrid. The report seems credible.
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."
