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Gaddafi survives air strikes, son killed

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

Libyan officials took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving mangled rods of reinforcing steel hanging down among splintered chunks of concrete.

"What we have now is the law of the jungle," government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference. "We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."

There was no immediate NATO reaction, nor was any independent confirmation of the deaths possible.

The appearance of an assassination attempt against Gaddafi is likely to draw accusations NATO is overstepping a U.N. mandate for British and French-led air forces to launch strikes to protect civilians.

Gaddafi, who seized power in a 1969 coup, is fighting an uprising by rebels who have seized much of the eastern part of Libya. He describes the rebels as religious extremists and Western agents who seek to seek control of Libyaâ€™s oil.

Inside one part of the villa hit late on Saturday, a beige corner sofa was virtually untouched, but debris had caved in on other striped upholstered chairs. The blasts had been heard across the city late on Saturday.

A table football machine stood outside in the garden in a wealthy residential area. Glass and debris covered the lawns and what appeared to be an unexploded missile lay in one corner.

It appeared to be the second NATO strike near to Gaddafi in 24 hours. A missile struck near the television station early on Saturday when the Libyan leader was making an address in which he said he would never step down and offered talks to rebels.

Benghazi rebels insist they cannot trust Gaddafi. The last few days have seen fierce shelling of rebel outposts in the west. A rebel spokesman in the mountain town of Zintan said government forces has showered the city with up to 30 powerful Grad missiles late in the evening.

Tripoli has declared a sea blockade on the western outpost of Misrata, potentially robbing the rebels of a vital aid link to their eastern heartland.

"FIGHT AND FIGHT"

Celebratory rifle fire and car horns rang out in the rebelsâ€™ eastern capital of Benghazi as news of the attack spread.

"The leader himself is in good health. He wasnâ€™t harmed," Ibrahim said. "His wife is also in good health.

"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle."

The announcement of the attack was made live on state television which later showed Tripoli residents marching on the streets, chanting "the martyr is the beloved of God." Some fired gunshots into the air.

U.S. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the White House was aware of Libyan media reports Gaddafiâ€™s son had been killed and was monitoring the situation.

Ibrahim said Gaddafiâ€™s youngest son, Saif Al-Arab, had been killed in the attack. Saif al-Arab, 29, is one of Gaddafiâ€™s less prominent sons, with a limited role in the power structure. Ibrahim described him as a student who had studied in Germany.

Gaddafiâ€™s daughter was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 1986, ordered after a bomb attack on a West Berlin discotheque killed two U.S. servicemen. Washington linked Tripoli to the attack.

"We will fight and fight if we have to," Ibrahim said. "The leader offered peace to NATO yesterday and NATO rejected it."

Fighting in Libyaâ€™s civil war, which grew from protests for greater political freedom that have spread across the Arab world, has reached stalemate in recent weeks with neither side capable of achieving a decisive blow.

Libyan forces had reached the gates of Benghazi last month when Gaddafi appeared on television declaring he would crush the rebellion, showing "no pity, no mercy." Days later the United Nations passed its resolution allowing the air strikes and saving the rebels from defeat.