October 12, 2011
Officials say Mutassim Gaddafi, one of ousted leader’s sons, was detained in Sirte and is now in Benghazi.
Mutassim Gaddafi, one of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, has been arrested in Sirte, according to Libya’s National Transitional Council.
He is currently being held in Benghazi, the NTC’s eastern power base, after being arrested on Wednesday, NTC officials told Al Jazeera.
Fighters in Sirte were reportedly celebrating the news of his arrest on Wednesday night.
James Bays, reporting from Tripoli, said he had spoken with several high-level NTC officials who had heard the news but could not confirm it. A spokesman for the military said he had not spoken with anyone who had seen Mutassim in custody.
Mutassim served as his father’s national security adviser while the regime was still in power, but was not seen as being as prominent as Saif al-Islam and Khamis, two of his other brothers.
Saif was considered Gaddafi’s likely successor, while Khamis controlled the country’s most powerful military unit, which was named after him.
Both Said and Khamis’ whereabouts are unknown, though the NTC reported months ago that it had arrested Saif, only to be proven wrong hours later when he made a public appearance in Tripoli, the capital, then still under Gaddafi’s control.
Photograph: SkyNews
