Libya: NATO Strike Kills Gadhafi's Youngest Son

Government says Saif al-Arab Gadhafi was killed when missile hit Tripoli home
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2011 6:34 PM CDT
NATO Missile Kills Moammar Gadhafi's Youngest Son, Three Grandchildren
Government officials and members of the media inspect the ruins of a house hit by a NATO missile in Tripoli.   (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A NATO airstrike in Tripoli killed Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son today, the Libyan government says. (NATO has yet to confirm.) Three of Gadhafi's grandchildren also were killed in the strike, though Gadhafi himself survived, reports the BBC. The son killed was 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gadhafi—not to be confused with his higher-profile brother, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi. At least one missile hit his home in a residential area of Tripoli, reports AP.

"The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives," said a government spokesman. "The leader himself is in good health, he wasn't harmed. This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country." Saif al-Arab Gadhafi was the youngest of six sons and had reportedly spent much of his time in Germany the last few years. The strike came hours after NATO rejected a rambling cease-fire offer made by Gadhafi, notes the New York Times. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)

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