'Libya rebels capture Gaddafi's son Saadi'

By REUTERS22/08/2011 Libyan rebel council chairman quoted as denying that talks under way between rebel leadership, ICC on Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, another of Libyan leader's sons being held by rebels; Gaddafi's whereabouts unknown.

Libyan rebels have captured Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi, Al Arabiyah television reported on Monday, citing the head of the rebel National Transitional Council Mustafa Abdul-Jalil. Two other of Gaddafi's sons, Saif and Mohammed, were also in rebel hands. RELATED: Gaddafi defiant as Libyan rebels besiege Tripoli  Battle outside Libyan capital, fighting spills to Tunisia  Abdul-Jalil, has said no one knows the whereabouts of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Al Arabiya reported. Al Arabiya also quoted him as saying no negotiations are under way between the rebel leadership and the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, on Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the leader's sons now being held by the rebels. An ICC official said earlier talks were under way with the rebels on transferring Saif al-Islam to the war crimes court. The ICC in June issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity after the UN Security Council referred the Libyan situation to the court in February. Rebel National Transitional Council Coordinator Adel Dabbechi confirmed Saturday night that Gaddafi's younger son Saif had been captured. The International Criminal Court in The Hague confirmed he had been held and said he should be handed over for trial. Gaddafi's other son Khamis was leading a military force towards central Tripoli, Al Arabiya TV said on Tuesday, citing rebel sources. The Dubai-based channel said the forces departed from Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound. Gaddafi's eldest son Mohammed Al-Gaddafi had surrendered to rebel forces, Dabbechi told Reuters. In a television interview, the younger Gaddafi said gunmen had surrounded his house, but he later told al-Jazeera in a phone call that he and his family were unharmed. The fighters swept into the heart of Tripoli and crowds took to the streets to celebrate what they saw as the end of Muammar Gaddafi's four decades of power, but a government fightback was reported as dawn broke on Monday. A column of hundreds of rebel fighters and pickup trucks carrying rocket launchers moved through the Libyan capital towards the central Green Square on Monday, a Reuters reporter in the city said. The rebels in the column were shouting "Allahu Akbar!" or "God is greatest!" Tanks emerged from Gaddafi's stronghold in the center of the Libyan capital and were shelling the area, Al Jazeera television reported. Despite euphoria among rebels and their backers in Tripoli and elsewhere, a rebel spokesman, identified on Al Jazeera as Nasser, said government troops still controlled "about 15 to 20 percent of the city". Earlier, rebels waving opposition flags and firing into the air drove into Green Square, a symbolic showcase the government had until recently used for mass demonstrations in support of the now embattled Gaddafi. Rebels immediately began calling it Martyrs Square.