Gaddafi TV Confirms Son Khamis Was Killed

A PRO-GADDAFI television channel last night confirmed the death of the toppled Libyan leader’s youngest son, Khamis, who had been reported killed by National Transitional Council fighters late in August, reports The Australian, an online publication.

Arrai, a Damascus-based broadcaster that has become the favoured forum for Gaddafi and the remnants of his ousted regime, said that Khamis had been killed on August 29 in Tarhuna, some 80km southwest of Tripoli while fighting “enemies of the homeland”.

His cousin Mohammed, son of Ghaddafi’s close ally and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, was killed in the same incident, added the broadcaster.

It is the first time that pro-Ghaddafi media has confirmed the death of Khamis, whose demise had been announced several times since Libya’s conflict erupted but always denied by the ousted regime. The most recent official statement on his death came on August 29 when interim justice minister Mohammed al-Allagy said Khamis had been killed and buried in Tarhuna.

But that statement was denied by a pro-Ghaddafi channel the next day.

Khamis, 28, commanded a brigade seen as the most effective and loyal force of the Libyan leader.

Meanwhile, the anti-Ghaddafi forces yesterday forced their way into the desert town of Bani Walid, one of the remaining strongholds of the former leader, but faced heavy resistance.

The fighting raged in the desert town about 170km southeast of Tripoli yesterday, even as the battle eased in the city of Sirte, Gaddafi’s home town, which has been heavily bombarded by the forces of the National Transitional Council.

NTC forces claimd to have reached the centre of Bani Walid.