TRIPOLI/SIRTE, Libya, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Libyan government
fighters captured Muammar Gaddafi’s son Mo’tassim in Sirte on
Wednesday after he tried to escape the battle-torn city in a car
with a family, officials with the National Transitional Council
(NTC) told Reuters.

The capture of the deposed leader’s national security
adviser, and the first member of the Gaddafi family, is a big
boost to Libya’s new rulers whose forces are still battling
pro-Gaddafi fighters in his home town of Sirte.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 12 (Reuters) – - Fighters loyal to deposed
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are now holding out in just two
small pockets of his home town Sirte on Wednesday, government
commanders said after making gains overnight.

Gaddafi loyalists have fought tenaciously for weeks in
Sirte, one of just two major towns they still control nearly two
months since rebels seized the capital Tripoli.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Resistance from fighters loyal to ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi crumbled in his home town overnight, government commanders said on Wednesday, and just two small pockets still held out.

Fighters from the interim Libyan government’s volunteer army walked slowly up the same battle-scarred streets strewn with empty ammunition cases where they had fought fierce clashes a day before. Other fighters searched the partly destroyed houses as a few dazed civilians emerged from their basements.

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday praised Libyans’ “extraordinary” participation in their homegrown revolution, and said she stood in solidarity with the country as it sought to become a nation of laws.

Jolie arrived in Libya on Tuesday and toured destruction in Misrata, the city captured by rebels over several weeks of heavy fighting as they pushed to depose Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday praised Libyans’ “extraordinary” participation in their homegrown revolution, and said she stood in solidarity with the country as it sought to become a nation of laws.

Jolie arrived in Libya on Tuesday and toured destruction in Misrata, the city captured by rebels over several weeks of heavy fighting as they pushed to depose Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Libya’s interim chief paid
a symbolic visit to Muammar Gaddafi’s battle-torn hometown of
Sirte on Tuesday, saying his forces needed two more days to
capture the last major stronghold of the deposed leader.

Taking Sirte would bring Libya’s National Transitional
Council (NTC) a big step closer to establishing control over the
vast North African nation almost two months after they seized
the capital Tripoli.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Libyan government forces
said on Tuesday they believed they had one of Muammar Gaddafi’s
sons cornered in the centre of the deposed leader’s home town,
but determined resistance was keeping them at bay.

After weeks of fighting, forces of the National Transitional
Council (NTC) have taken most of Sirte and driven Gaddafi
loyalists into two neighbourhoods in the north of the city.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan transitional government forces said they had cornered Muammar Gaddafi loyalists in a small area in the center of the deposed leader’s hometown on Monday, but many desperate civilians were still trying to flee the fierce street clashes.

The protracted battle for Sirte, a showpiece Mediterranean coastal city largely loyal to Gaddafi, has raised concerns about many civilian casualties that could breed long-term hostility making it very hard for the National Transitional Council (NTC) to unite the vast North African state once the fighting is over.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Libyan transitional
government forces said they had cornered Muammar Gaddafi
loyalists in a small area in the centre of the deposed leader’s
hometown on Monday, but many desperate civilians were still
trying to flee the fierce street clashes.

The protracted battle for Sirte, a showpiece Mediterranean
coastal city largely loyal to Gaddafi, has raised concerns about
many civilian casualties that could breed long-term hostility
making it very hard for the National Transitional Council (NTC)
to unite the vast North African state once the fighting is over.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan government forces captured landmark buildings in a thrust toward the center of Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown Sirte, but came under a fierce counter attack which inflicted dozens of casualties.

Taking Sirte would bring Libya’s new rulers a big step closer to establishing control of the entire, sprawling North African country almost two months after they seized the capital Tripoli, but Gaddafi loyalists are putting up stiff resistance.