Khamis Gadhafi, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi, was killed in a raid on the night of Thursday to Friday during a NATO raid over the city of Zliten, located 90 miles of Tripoli, Libyan rebels announced on Friday.
Khamis Gadhafi is among the 32 people killed in a raid of the North-Atlantic Alliance on the night of Thursday to Friday, said Mohammed Zawawi, a spokesman for the rebels.
He said that the information was obtained through intelligence operations conducted among pro-Gadhafi forces.
“During the night, a NATO aircraft carried out an attack on Gadhafi’s command center. Thirty-two of his men were killed and one of them is Khamis”, Zawawi said.
According to him, the rebels intercepted radio conversations of pro-Gadhafi forces indicating that Khamis was killed.
A NATO official in Naples said on condition of anonymity, that “he is investigating in connection with this information”.
At the age of 28, Khamis is the youngest of the seven sons of Libyan leader. Career officer, graduate of the Military Academy and of the Russian war school, he was the commander of one of the most effective brigades loyal to Libyan leader, known as the ” Khamis Brigade”.
He was running the operations on the Zliten front, the most advanced position of the rebels in east after the strategic port of Misra.
Khamis Gadhafi’s death was also announced at the end of March, by the press close to the rebels, but was denied by the regime.
The NATO raid occurred just hours after a visit to Zliten of a group of journalists that came from Tripoli, organized by the regime.
According to the Libyan state media, another son of Colonel Gadhafi, Saif al-Arab, less known, was killed in late April by a NATO bombing, together with three grandchildren of the Libyan leader.
NATO took over command on March 31 of the operations of defending the civilian population from attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadhafi.
NATO bombing takes place under a UN mandate that provides for “public protection” and excludes “conduct of troops on the ground.”