US ambassador 'killed in Libya'?

The US ambassador to Libya has died after an attack by militiamen on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi. However, the US state department has only confirmed the death of one official - but it has not named them.

Ambassador Christopher Stevens is said to be among four US officials killed in a protest over a US-produced film that is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Protesters have also attacked the US embassy in Cairo over the film.

In the attack in Benghazi, unidentified armed men stormed the grounds, shooting at buildings and throwing handmade bombs into the compound.

Read more: Joy Online

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Lockerbie bomber dies in Libya

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi died at home today - three years after he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.

The convicted terrorist's mother said he passed away at his home in Tripoli at around midday. The 60-year-old had developed prostate cancer while serving his sentence for the 1988 atrocity which killed 270 people.

His release came after doctors told him he had just three months to live.

Read more: Mail Online

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Gaddafi loyalists take back Bani Walid

Fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have seized back the town of Bani Walid and raised the late dictator's green flag, in a blow to Libya's struggling provisional government.

Reports said at least four people were killed during clashes between besieged forces loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and armed and well-organised supporters of Gaddafi. 

"They control the town now. They are roaming the town," one militia member was quoted as saying of the pro-Gaddafi fighters, according to Reuters.

Bani Walid, a former regime stronghold 110 miles south-east of Tripoli, was one of the last to succumb to pro-government forces after the capital fell in August. 

Read more: The Guardian

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ICC says Muammar Gaddafi killing may be war crime

[ via BBC Africa ] 16 Dec

The death of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi "creates suspicions" of war crimes, says the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC was raising the concern with Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC). 

Col Gaddafi was killed on 20 October after being caught by rebels in his home town of Sirte. NTC officials initially said he died in crossfire, but promised to investigate following Western pressure.

"I think the way in which Mr Gaddafi was killed creates suspicions of... war crimes," Mr Moreno-Ocampo told reporters.

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Putin points to U.S. role in Gadhafi's killing

[ via CNN ] 15 Dec

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused U.S. drones and special forces of involvement in the death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in comments Thursday.

Responding to a question about McCain purportedly predicting Putin would meet the same fate as Libya's leader, the Russian prime minister described the televised images of Gadhafi's final moments as "horrible, disgusting scenes" and pointed to U.S. involvement in his death.

It may be added that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged the day after Gadhafi's death that "it was a U.S. drone combined with the other NATO planes that fired on the convoy" in which the Libyan leader was traveling outside the city of Sirte. But the Pentagon has denied that any U.S. forces were on the ground in a combat role in Libya.

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Libya Likely to Allow British Police to Visit for Lockerbie Inquiry

[ The New York Times ] 9 Dec

Britain said Thursday that Libyan leaders have signaled new flexibility in prosecuting the Libyan perpetrators of the Lockerbie bombing and the killing of a London policewoman during the 1980s. 

Fuselage of the crashed Pan AM fliht 103 over Lockerbie (Photo: ITN)

The prosecutions of the Libyans responsible for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans still remains unresolved.

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Video: Libyan rebel who spoke to Qaddafi minutes before he died

Full Story: BBC Africa 28 Nov

Mohammed Sheba, a rebel, had a chance to speak to Gaddafi between the time he was dragged out of his hiding and till he was shot dead in cold blood.

Muhammad Sheba spoke to Gaddafi before he died: Screen shot from BBC video

Mr Sheba told BBC News about Gaddafi's fear during their conversation and his own frustration over the former leader's death.

Watch the video at BBC Africa

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Gaddafi son needs surgery on gangrenous fingers

Full Story: Yahoo News 25 Nov

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam needs surgery to remove gangrenous flesh from a severed thumb and finger which if not treated could make him seriously ill, a doctor who examined him told Reuters Thursday.

The bandaged right arm of Saif al Islam (Photo By STRINGER/Reuters)

"This wound is not in good condition and requires amputation," said Andrei Murakhovsky, a Ukraine-born doctor working in Zintan, the town where Saif al-Islam is being held, and who treated him three days ago.

Read full story for details

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Capture of Gaddafi's son may open a Pandora's Box to Embarrass Many

Full Story: Mail Online

Now that Gaddafi's son, Saif al Islam, has been captured, speculations are on the rise as to what secrets will be revealed by him as he may open a Pandora's box of his relations and contacts with many political leaders of the West.

Captured Saif-al-Islam (left) being taken to city of Zintan for detention till his trial (Photo: Reuters)

The London School of Economics  graduate, who threw wild parties in the South of France and owned a £10 million mansion in Hampstead, may reveal details of UK’s relations with Libya during his father’s rule - something that could prove highly embarrassing for UK.

Some of the names associated with Saif include: Prince Andrew, Lord Powell, Nat Rothschild, Lord Mandelson and of course Tony Blair, the ex British PM.

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