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U.S. doesn’t think Gadhafi’s foes know where he is, official says

09 September 2011 02:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States does not know where ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is and does not believe the National Transitional Council has a lock on his whereabouts either, a senior U.S. official told CNN Thursday, APA reports quoting CNN.

That information came after Anees al-Sharif, a spokesman for the new Tripoli Military Council, said anti-Gadhafi fighters had cornered the fallen Libyan leader and that he had no means of escape. Al-Sharif did not divulge a location.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said earlier this week that officials believe Gadhafi is on the run. "I don’t have any information as to exactly where he’s located," he said.

Two Libyan convoys passed through Niger this week, officials in that country said. Initial speculation was that Gadhafi was in one of those groups, but on Thursday a second senior U.S. official said the United States now has a list of officials from Libya who were in both convoys.
There were "no marquee names," or anyone who was named in U.N. Security Council resolutions, the second source said. The official would not say who was in the convoys but said Gadhafi’s security chief was not among them, refuting reports that said he left in the convoy.

The Nigerien government is talking to the NTC about what the new Libyan leadership wants to do with those in the convoy but the NTC hasn’t decided whether it’s worth it to bring them back, the source said.

Libyans are leading the search for Gadhafi. The Central Intelligence Agency has agents in the area, and the United Kingdom, France, Jordan and Qater have special forces in the country as well, NATO and U.S. defense officials tell CNN. However, the mission of those agents is not necessarily focused on hunting for Gadhafi.

In Washington, Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted Thursday that the U.S. mission in Libya is to protect citizens and "is not about capturing or finding Col. Gadhafi."

Questions about Gadhafi’s whereabouts intensified after the fall of Tripoli and reports that his wife, daughter, two sons and other family members fled to neighboring Algeria, which described its acceptance of the family as a humanitarian gesture.

Gadhafi’s forces in Bani Walid, one of the last loyalist strongholds, fired Grad rockets at opposition fighters Thursday, according to the NTC chief negotiator for the city, Abdallah Kenshill. He said the rockets were fired randomly and no fighters were injured.

"Gadhafi loyalists are just trying to scare rebel ranks with the Grad explosions and booms," Kenshil said.

Opposition fighers are advancing on Bani Walid from two directions, according to Kenshil. He also said opposition supporters inside the city attacked some of Gadhafi’s military installations, capturing and destroying artillery and rocket launchers.

Bani Walid is about 150 kilometers (some 90 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

Meantime, NTC leader Mahmoud Jibril told reporters that Libyans have a choice between the past and the future. He warned that the "battle for freedom" was not over, especially in the southern part of the country. He also said that the "national confidence which aimed at bringing the regime down has not been achieved yet."