Muammar Gaddafi death: Last hours in Sirte

The former leader was reportedly found inside a large concrete pipe The former leader was reportedly found inside a large concrete pipe

The exact circumstances of the death of Col Muammar Gaddafi remain unclear, but the following reports have circulated.

After the fall of Tripoli in August, Sirte - the former Libyan leader's home town - remained one of the final pockets of loyalist resistance.

In the last fortnight, National Transitional Council (NTC) forces mounted a major offensive against the city and succeeded in pushing Gaddafi loyalists back towards the sea.

The last significant pocket of resistance was reported to be in District 2, in the north-west of the city.

In the early hours of Thursday it appears that some pro-Gaddafi forces attempted to break out.

An armoured convoy of vehicles, which according to some reports contained key Gaddafi loyalists and his son, Mutassim Gaddafi, attempted to fight their way through NTC lines.

It is not clear whether Col Gaddafi himself was part of this convoy or whether the convoy itself formed part of a wider diversionary plan to allow him to slip away.

Air strike

At around 0630 GMT Nato aircraft are reported to have attacked the convoy, according to Daily Telegraph reporter Ben Farmer approximately 3-4 km west of the city.

Start Quote

There was a lot of firing against his group and he died”

End Quote Abdel Majid Mlegta NTC official

There are some reports that Col Gaddafi was then initially captured, with serious injuries, at around noon on Thursday.

Pictures circulated by Agence France-Presse showed a large concrete pipe in which the deposed leader apparently took refuge.

Arabic graffiti above the pipe reads: "This is the place of Gaddafi, the rat... God is the greatest."

A fighter loyal to Libya's interim authorities told the BBC he found Gaddafi hiding in a hole and the former leader begged him not to shoot. The fighter brandished a golden pistol he said he took from Col Gaddafi.

A man claiming to be an eyewitness told the BBC that he saw Col Gaddafi being shot with a 9mm gun in the abdomen at around 1230 local time.

NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters that Gaddafi had been wounded in both legs.

Al Jazeera footage apparently showing the body of Col Gaddafi Al-Jazeera TV broadcast footage it said showed Col Gaddafi's body

"He was also hit in his head," he said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

Grainy video footage has circulated among NTC fighters appearing to show the former leader's corpse.

A separate picture of Col Gaddafi's body apparently being dragged on the ground was aired by the Al Jazeera news channel.

An NTC information minister told Reuters that Gaddafi's body was being taken to Misrata.

Map: Where Gaddafi was found

More on This Story

Libya Crisis

More Africa stories

RSS

Features & Analysis

Elsewhere on BBC News

Programmes

  • Rhys Ifans in AnonymousTalking Movies Watch

    A new historical thriller is reigniting the age-old debate over the authorship of Shakespeare's body of work

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2011 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.