Gaddafi killed in Sirte battle

 

Former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been killed by Libyan fighters following the siege of Sirte, it has been announced.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril told a Tripoli press conference.

Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the country's National Transitional Council, is also said to have confirmed Gaddafi's death.

Earlier, NTC officials told Reuters that Gaddafi had been captured and wounded in both legs after Libyan forces took control of Sirte.

Reports suggested Gaddafi had been killed in a gun battle after surviving a NATO attack on a convoy he was travelling in.

Photographs, purportedly of Gaddafi's corpse, have been circulating online.

The reports follow weeks in which it was speculated he may have fled the country with his family.

After being forced to flee Tripoli in August, Gaddafi swore he would fight until he achieved 'martyrdom or victory' on Libyan soil rather than hand the country over to the then-rebel forces.

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