An official in Libya’s new regime claimed it had arrested one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Mutassim.

Libya’s new regime claimed it had arrested one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Mutassim.

A National Transitional Council (NTC) official told the Reuters news agency that Mutassim was currently being held in Benghazi, the Council's eastern power base, after being arrested on Wednesday.
Colonel Abdullah Naker of the Tripoli Revolutionary Council was quoted as saying: "[Mutassim] was arrested today in Sirte".

However, another official in the NTC said there was no confirmation of Mutassim’s capture.
Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the NTC in Benghazi, told the Associated Press news agency that he called commanders in Sirte: "so far as we are concerned, there is no confirmation that Mutassim Gaddafi has been captured”.

Shortly following the announcment, NTC fighters celebrated Mutassim’s capture on Wednesday night, while citizens in the capital Tripoli took the streets to sound their car horns and fire guns into the sky.

The NTC claimed in August to have captured Gaddafi's highest-profile son, Seif al-Islam, during the final battle for the capital, but that claim turned out to be false, with Seif appeared in public hours later.

If Mutassim was captured, the NTC will be eager to question him regarding the whereabouts of his father and brothers which are still unknow.