Has Moammar Gadhafi's Son Been Killed by Libyan Pilot?
Mar 22nd 2011 – 7:52AM
Rumors are swirling in the Arab world that one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons has been killed in an attack on the family compound -- but not by a coalition air strike. Khamis Gadhafi is said to have been killed by a traitor Libyan air force pilot who nose-dived his fighter jet into the Gadhafi compound on a kamikaze suicide mission.
The 27-year-old son of Libya's dictator heads the Khamis Brigades, a special-forces unit of the Libyan army especially loyal to Gadhafi. The force was blamed for some of the most vicious attacks on pro-democracy protesters in eastern Libyan in recent weeks, as well as for recruiting African mercenaries to attack Libyans who oppose Gadhafi.
Libyan officials have denied the reports of Khamis Gadhafi's death, which have been carried by Libyan opposition websites and Arab news agencies, and picked up by some Western media.
The reports say a Libyan air force pilot was dispatched on a bombing raid toward the east but instead turned around and deliberately crashed his jet into the Gadhafi family's Bab al-Aziziya compound on Saturday, in a possible attempt on the Libyan dictator's life. Moammar Gadhafi wasn't there at the time and is believed to be hiding in a secret bunker, but his son reportedly died from extensive burns.
One Libyan opposition website said the attack happened earlier, on March 15, and posted a photo of the alleged kamikaze pilot, Muhammad Mukhtar Osman, calling him a "martyr."
"This act of courage will forever be remembered. Osman is a hero to the revolution. God rest his soul," the Libyan Youth Movement said. But it made no mention of Khamis Gadhafi's death.
Coalition officials are said to be urgently investigating the reports to see if they're true. But verifying the kamikaze strike could prove difficult. After the Libyan pilot is alleged to have crashed into Bab al-Aziziya, coalition aircraft unleashed cruise missiles on the compound Sunday, blasting parts of it into ruin. Casualty figures, if any, are unknown.
There were also rumors last week that Khamis Gadhafi was injured in fighting against rebels in Ajdabiya, in eastern Libya.
A Libyan government official acknowledged the report of Khamis Gadhafi's death but called it a "nonsensical piece of news." But other Libyan opposition websites also identified the alleged kamikaze pilot as Osman.
"May his memory be blessed and may his sacrifice be rewarded by a free democratic Libya," another caption read, alongside the same photo of a gray-haired pilot climbing into his cockpit.
Libyan fighters check their ammunition in the rebel held town of Ras Lanuf, a pipeline hub on the Mediterranean coast that houses a major refinery and petrochemical complex on March 5, 2011, as rebels push their campaign closer to the capital Tripoli.
Khamis Gadhafi is the Libyan dictator's seventh and youngest son. He was only 3 years old when an American airstrike hit Bab al-Aziziya in 1986, in response to the bombing of a Berlin disco, blamed on Libyan agents, that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 230 people. Khamis suffered head injuries in the 1986 U.S. air strike, and his adopted sister was purportedly killed.
Khamis later went on to study military science in Tripoli and Moscow, and was expelled from an M.B.A. business program in Madrid earlier this month because of his alleged links to attacks on Libyan civilians.
The 27-year-old son of Libya's dictator heads the Khamis Brigades, a special-forces unit of the Libyan army especially loyal to Gadhafi. The force was blamed for some of the most vicious attacks on pro-democracy protesters in eastern Libyan in recent weeks, as well as for recruiting African mercenaries to attack Libyans who oppose Gadhafi.
Jerome Delay, AP
Libyan soldiers survey the damage to an administrative building hit by a missile late Sunday in the heart of Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
The reports say a Libyan air force pilot was dispatched on a bombing raid toward the east but instead turned around and deliberately crashed his jet into the Gadhafi family's Bab al-Aziziya compound on Saturday, in a possible attempt on the Libyan dictator's life. Moammar Gadhafi wasn't there at the time and is believed to be hiding in a secret bunker, but his son reportedly died from extensive burns.
One Libyan opposition website said the attack happened earlier, on March 15, and posted a photo of the alleged kamikaze pilot, Muhammad Mukhtar Osman, calling him a "martyr."
"This act of courage will forever be remembered. Osman is a hero to the revolution. God rest his soul," the Libyan Youth Movement said. But it made no mention of Khamis Gadhafi's death.
Coalition officials are said to be urgently investigating the reports to see if they're true. But verifying the kamikaze strike could prove difficult. After the Libyan pilot is alleged to have crashed into Bab al-Aziziya, coalition aircraft unleashed cruise missiles on the compound Sunday, blasting parts of it into ruin. Casualty figures, if any, are unknown.
There were also rumors last week that Khamis Gadhafi was injured in fighting against rebels in Ajdabiya, in eastern Libya.
A Libyan government official acknowledged the report of Khamis Gadhafi's death but called it a "nonsensical piece of news." But other Libyan opposition websites also identified the alleged kamikaze pilot as Osman.
"May his memory be blessed and may his sacrifice be rewarded by a free democratic Libya," another caption read, alongside the same photo of a gray-haired pilot climbing into his cockpit.
Yasser Al-Zayyat, AFP/Getty Images
Kuwaiti parliament speaker Jassem Mohammad al-Khorafi arrive to attend a parliament session in Kuwiat City on March 22, 2011 where two opposition MPs filed to question in parliament the deputy prime minister for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah over alleged corruption involving around $900 million (633 million euros).
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The Day in Photos
Kuwaiti parliament speaker Jassem Mohammad al-Khorafi arrive to attend a parliament session in Kuwiat City on March 22, 2011 where two opposition MPs filed to question in parliament the deputy prime minister for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah over alleged corruption involving around $900 million (633 million euros).
Yasser Al-Zayyat, AFP/Getty Images
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Libyan fighters check their ammunition in the rebel held town of Ras Lanuf, a pipeline hub on the Mediterranean coast that houses a major refinery and petrochemical complex on March 5, 2011, as rebels push their campaign closer to the capital Tripoli.
Thousands of Bangladesh refugees who fled Libya stand in a queue of around five kilometers as they walk from the Ras Jdir border post to the Choucha refugee camp on March 4, 2011. Heavily armed pro-regime forces are manning the Libyan side of the border with Tunisia, and fewer than 2,000 people crossed the frontier on March 3, the UN refugees agency said. "On previous days, between 10,000 and 15,000 fled every day into Tunisia. Yesterday less than 2,000 made it across the border," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Several hundred journalists, some covering their mouths with black ribbons, took to the streets to protest the detention of 10 people, including eight journalists, in Ankara on March 4, 2011. A man carries a sign which displays an injured photojournalist and a Turkish word "Yipraniyoruz" which refers to a feeling a being run down and worn out. The EU and international media watchdogs have condemned the arrests which took place after the detainees' homes were raided early Thursday, crying alarm over press freedom in the EU-aspirant country.
An anti Libyan government fighter manages the last checkpoint at the west gate of the town of Ajdabiya 160 kms west of Benghazi, Libya's second city, on March 04, 2011, as they sought to advance their struggle against loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi.
Lady Amelia Spencer, 18, is surrounded by police as she leaves the Cape Town Magistrates Court where she appeared on charges of common assault on March 3, 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa. The daughter of Earl Spencer was involved in a argument with a man on crutches at a McDonald's drive-through in the early hours of December 22, 2010, where she reportedly flicked a cigarette butt into a taxi before smacking and kicking the car's passenger.
Hundreds of Algerian students shout during a sit-in outside the Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry in Algiers on March 3, 2011 demanding the annulment of a decree placing a civil engineering diploma at the same level as a Masters.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo speaks at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands on March 3, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi and key aides will be probed over allegations they have committed crimes against humanity during the uprising in Libya, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor said.
A woman displays a mini PC speaker at the CeBIT IT fair on March 3, 2011 in Hanover, central Germany. More than 4,200 tech firms from 70 countries are expected to attend this year's CeBIT, with many of the big names that stayed away during the global financial crisis returning to Germany. The fair is running until March 5, 2011.
Khamis Gadhafi is the Libyan dictator's seventh and youngest son. He was only 3 years old when an American airstrike hit Bab al-Aziziya in 1986, in response to the bombing of a Berlin disco, blamed on Libyan agents, that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 230 people. Khamis suffered head injuries in the 1986 U.S. air strike, and his adopted sister was purportedly killed.
Khamis later went on to study military science in Tripoli and Moscow, and was expelled from an M.B.A. business program in Madrid earlier this month because of his alleged links to attacks on Libyan civilians.
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