Muammar Gaddafi killed
Gaddafi killed as Libya's revolt claims hometown

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi died of wounds suffered on Thursday as fighters battling to complete an eight-month-old uprising against his rule overran his hometown Sirte, Libya's interim rulers said.

His killing, which came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.

"He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head," National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked. He said he had been taken away by an ambulance.

There was no independent confirmation of his remarks.
An anti-Gaddafi fighter said Gaddafi had been found hiding in a hole in the ground and had said "Don't shoot, don't shoot" to the men who grabbed him.

His capture followed within minutes of the fall of Sirte, a development that extinguished the last significant resistance by forces loyal to the deposed leader.

The capture of Sirte and the death of Gaddafi means Libya's ruling NTC should now begin the task of forging a new democratic system which it had said it would get under way after the city, built as a showpiece for Gaddafi's rule, had fallen.

Gaddafi, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of ordering the killing of civilians, was toppled by rebel forces on Aug. 23 after 42 years of one-man rule over the oil-producing North African state.

NTC fighters hoisted the red, black and green national flag above a large utilities building in the centre of a newly-captured Sirte neighbourhood and celebratory gunfire broke out among their ecstatic and relieved comrades.

Hundreds of NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town for weeks in a chaotic struggle that killed and wounded scores of the besieging forces and an unknown number of defenders.

NTC fighters said there were a large number of corpses inside the last redoubts of the Gaddafi troops. It was not immediately possible to verify that information.

TIMELINE - Libya's civil war

Here is a timeline of the civil war in Libya since protests against Muammar Gaddafi broke out in February:


Feb. 15/16, 2011 - The arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel starts a riot in Benghazi.
Feb. 24 - Anti-government militias take control of central coastal city of Misrata after evicting forces loyal to Gaddafi.Feb. 26 - The U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on Gaddafi and his family, and refers the crackdown on rebels to the International Criminal Court.
Feb. 28 - EU governments approve sanctions against Gaddafi and his closest advisers.
March 5 - The rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi declares itself Libya's sole representative.March 17 - The U.N. Security Council votes to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya and military action -- to protect civilians against Gaddafi's army.March 19 - The first air strikes halt the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi and target Libya's air defences.
April 30 - A NATO missile attack on a house in Tripoli kills Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren, his government says.June 27 - The ICC issues arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.Aug. 21 - Rebels enter Tripoli with little resistance. Gaddafi makes audio addresses over state television calling on Libyans to fight off the rebel "rats".Aug. 23 - The rebels overrun Gaddafi's fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, trashing the symbols of his rule.Aug. 29 - Gaddafi's wife, his daughter Aisha and two of his sons enter Algeria. Aisha Gaddafi gives birth in a clinic in a border town hours after crossing the frontier.Sept. 1 - Libya's interim rulers meet world leaders at a conference in Paris to discuss reshaping Libya. Gaddafi, on the 42nd anniversary of his coming to power, urges his supporters to fight on.
Sept. 8 - Interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril arrives in Tripoli on his first visit since it was taken by his forces.Sept. 11 - Libya starts producing oil again. Niger says Gaddafi's son Saadi has arrived there.Sept. 13 - Interim government chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil makes his first speech in Tripoli to a crowd of about 10,000.Sept. 15 - France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain's David Cameron land in Libya to a heroes' welcome.

Sept. 16 - The U.N. Security Council eases sanctions on Libya, including on its national oil company and central bank. The U.N. General Assembly approves a request to accredit interim government envoys as Libya's sole representatives at the U.N., effectively recognizing the NTC.Sept. 20 - U.S. President Barack Obama calls for the last of Gaddafi's loyalist forces to surrender as he announces the return of the U.S. ambassador to Tripoli. Gaddafi taunts NATO in a speech broadcast by Syrian-based Arrai television station.Sept. 21 - The interim rulers say they have captured most of Sabha, one of three main towns where Gaddafi loyalists have been holding out since the fall of Tripoli. Gaddafi's birthplace Sirte and the town of Bani Walid continue to resist.crude oil to be shipped in Sept. 25 - The first Libyan months sails from the eastern port of Marsa el Hariga for Italy.Sept. 27 - NATO says Libya's interim rulers have taken full control of the country's stockpile of chemical weapons and nuclear material.

Oct. 12 - Government fighters capture Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim after he tried to escape Sirte.

Oct. 13 - NTC forces say they have control of the whole of Sirte except neighbourhood 'Number Two' where Gaddafi forces are surrounded.Oct. 14 - Gunfights break out in Tripoli between Gaddafi supporters and NTC forces, the first sign of armed resistance to the new government.Oct. 17 - NTC forces celebrate the capture of Bani Walid, one of the final bastions of Gaddafi loyalists.

-- A Syrian television station confirms Gaddafi's son Khamis died in fighting southeast of Tripoli on Aug. 29.Oct. 18 - U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton arrives in Libya on an unannounced visit, urges militias to unite.

Oct. 20 - NTC fighters capture Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, ending a two-month siege and extinguishing the last significant hold out of troops loyal to the deposed leader.