Youngest Son Of Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, Grandchildren Killed By NATO In Airstrike

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi survived a NATO air strike on a Tripoli house that killed his youngest son and three grandchildren, a government spokesman said on Sunday.



Libyan officials took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in places, leaving mangled rods of reinforcing steel hanging down among splintered chunks of concrete.


“What we have now is the law of the jungle,” government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference. “We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians.”

NATO denied targeting Gadhafi or his family, but said it had launched air strikes on military targets in the same area of Tripoli as the bombed site seen by reporters.


“NATO continued its precision strikes against regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Aziziyah neighborhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening,” the alliance said in a statement.


NATO's commander of Libya operations, Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, said the target was part of a strategy to hit command centers that threaten civilians.


“All NATO's targets are military in nature … We do not target individuals,” he said in a statement.


Ibrahim said Gadhafi's youngest son, Saif Al-Arab, had been killed in the attack. Saif al-Arab, 29, is one of Gadhafi's less prominent sons, with a limited role in the power structure. Ibrahim described him as a student who had studied in Germany.


The grandchildren killed were pre-teens, Ibrahim said.


The appearance of an assassination attempt against Gadhafi  is likely to lead to accusations that the British- and French-led strikes are overstepping the UN mandate to protect civilians.


“I am aware of unconfirmed media reports that some of Gadhafi's family members may have been killed,” said Bouchard. “We regret all loss of life.”


Second close call in 24 hours


Gadhafi, who seized power in a 1969 bloodless coup, is fighting an uprising by rebels who have seized much of eastern Libya. He describes the rebels as religious extremists and Western agents who seek to control Libya's oil.


Inside one part of the villa hit late on Saturday, a beige corner sofa was virtually untouched, but debris had caved in on other striped upholstered chairs. The blasts were heard across the city.


A table football machine stood outside in the garden in a wealthy residential area. Glass and debris covered the lawns and what appeared to be an unexploded missile lay in one corner.


It appeared to be the second NATO strike near to Gadhafi in 24 hours. A missile struck near a television station early on Saturday when the Libyan leader was making an address in which he said he would never step down and offered talks to rebels.