A NATO air strike killed Moamer Gaddafi’s youngest son and three grandchildren but the strongman escaped unhurt, a Libyan spokesman said on Sunday, after rebels and NATO spurned an offer for talks to end the crisis.
 Seif l-Arab Gaddafi |
The house of Seif al-Arab Gaddafi, 29, "was attacked tonight with full power," government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told reporters, announcing the deaths from Saturday night raids.
The Libyan leader and his wife were in the building but were not harmed, Ibrahim said, calling the strike "a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country."
"The leader himself is in good health; he wasn't harmed. His wife is also in good health; she wasn't harmed, (but) other people were injured," he added.
Ibrahim later said intelligence on Gaddafi's whereabouts appeared to have been "leaked," adding: "They knew about him being there, or expected him for some reason."
The United States avoided comment on reported deaths in the Gaddafi family.
RAIDS
In the attacks, three massive explosions ripped through Gaddafi's headquarters in Tripoli on Saturday evening.
Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes on Bab al-Aziziya. The aerial attacks were followed by a third from the same direction, media sources reported.
Meanwhile, 13 powerful explosions rocked the Libyan port city of Misratah late on Saturday as NATO warplanes struck targets in the opposition-held city.
Earlier in the day, Gaddafi said he would not step down, but he was ready for a ceasefire and negotiations, provided that NATO halted its airstrikes.
Rejecting his offer, NATO announced that it would only consider a ceasefire after Gaddafi forces stop attacking civilians.
The opposition has also dismissed Gaddafi's ceasefire proposal, saying he has no part to play in the country's future.
And despite Gaddafi's calls for a ceasefire, regime forces later rained mortar shells and rockets on Misratah, killing at least 15 people, including a nine-year-old boy.
The regime is trying to block access to Misratah by sea and has threatened to target any ships that enter the port city.
