TV Station Confirms Death Of Qaddafi's Son

A TV grab shows allegedly shows Khamis, the son of Muammar Qaddafi, visiting victims of NATO raids at a hospital in an unspecified location in early August.

A television station based in Syria that supports Muammar Qaddafi confirmed today that the youngest son of the ousted Libyan leader, Khamis, was killed during fighting south of the capital, Tripoli.

Arrai television said Khamis, and Mohammed Abdullah al-Senousi, Qaddafi's intelligence chief, were killed during a battle on August 29 with forces loyal to Libya's new leaders.

Khamis commanded an elite military unit. He had been reported killed twice during the uprising, only to reappear.

The report by Arrai television was the first confirmation of his death, which had first been reported by officials from the interim government.

Meanwhile, forces loyal to Libya's interim leaders are reported to have battled their way into Bani Walid, one of the few remaining towns resisting the rule of the National Transitional Council (NTC).

The French news agency AFP quotes an NTC commander as saying his troops had met "heavy resistance" in Bani Walid, some 170 kilometers southeast of Tripoli.

AFP also reported a lull in fighting on October 16 in Sirte, the hometown of Muammar Qaddafi.

An NTC commander in Sirte said pro-Qaddafi snipers were slowing down their advance through Sirte.

Officials in Bamako, meanwhile, said that more than 400 armed Tuaregs had arrived in Mali from Libya where they fought in Qaddafi's army.

A Malian security source said the Tuaregs -- Libyan nationals of Malian origin -- had arrived in Mali on October 15 "with weapons and luggage."

The UN special envoy to west Africa, Said Djinnit, said the reparation of hundreds of fighters is "a serious worry."

Djinnit said the men arrived "in confusion, with big re-entry problems, which has increased the insecurity in the north of Mali."

compiled from agency reports