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Libyan Rebels Celebrate NATO Strike on Gadhafi Home

01 May 2011 03:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Libyans in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi fired celebratory shots into the air and honked car horns late Saturday after a government spokesman said a NATO airstrike had killed one of the sons of leader Moammar Gadhafi, APA reports quoting voanews.com website.

Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said three of Mr. Gadhafi’s grandchildren were also killed in the strike, Saturday, on the son’s home in Tripoli. He said Mr. Gadhafi and his wife were inside of the home at the time but were not hurt.

Moussa said the strike killed 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gadhafi, one of Mr. Gadhafi’s younger sons. He said the bombing left several other people who were in the home injured.

Moussa called the incident a direct attempt to assassinate Mr. Gadhafi. However, there was no immediate reaction from NATO concerning the incident.

During a Tuesday news conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said NATO forces were not specifically targeting Mr. Gadhafi but would consider â€œcommand-and-controlâ€ sites as legitimate targets.

Also, reporters were taken to the site of the home, where they saw extensive damage.

Earlier Saturday, NATO rejected an offer from Mr. Gadhafi for negotiations to end the conflict in his country.

A NATO official said Saturday NATO wants to see â€œactions not words.â€ He said the Libyan government has announced ceasefires several times before only to continue attacking civilians. The official said NATO operations will continue as long as civilians in Libya are threatened.

Libyan rebels also rejected Mr. Gadhafi’s call for talks saying the time for compromise has passed.

Mr. Gadhafi said in an hour-and-a-half long televised speech on Saturday that he was ready for negotiations provided that NATO stop its attacks, but he said would not step down from power.

Libya says NATO bombed a site near the national broadcast offices while Mr. Gadhafi was inside delivering his address. The Libyan government says the bombing shows allied forces are specifically targeting Mr. Gadhafi.

Also Saturday, NATO said it is working to clear anti-ship mines laid by pro-Gadhafi forces in the harbor of the rebel-held city of Misrata.

NATO operations commander Brigadier Rob Weighill said the alliance intercepted several small boats laying mines on Friday. He said the incident shows what he called Mr. Gadhafi’s complete disregard for international law by trying to keep humanitarian aid from being delivered to civilians.

Several aid ships have not been able to arrive in the port because of the threat of mines. The port is the only lifeline for the city of 300,000, which has been under siege for two months.