Former Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi died of wounds suffered in his capture near his hometown of Sirte on Thursday, a senior National Transitional Council (NTC) military official said.
NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Qadhafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked.
"He was also hit in his head," the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."
There was no independent confirmation of his remarks.
Libya Al-Hurra, the official television channel of Libya's interim government, reports that the former dictator is in a coma and is being transported to a hospital in Misrata.
In August, Libya's revolutionaries reported that Qadhafi's son had been captured in Tripoli. He later appeared on the streets of the Libyan capital to address reporters.
Qadhafi was trying to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked, Majid said. The head of Qadhafi's armed forces Abu Bakr Younus Jabr had been killed during the capture of the Libyan ex-leader, he added.
Majid said NATO warplanes struck the convoy and hit four cars as it headed west. Ahmed Ibrahim, a cousin and adviser of Qadhafi, was captured, according to NTC sources.
In the capital Tripoli, sounds of gun shots were heard and people cheered in the street: "God is Great, God is Great, Qadhafi has been captured."
