Mutassim Gaddafi reportedly captured

Police arrested Muammar Gaddafi’s son Mutassim in Libya yesterday. 

He was detained in Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. 

Libya’s National Transitional Council said they are holding him in Benghazi.  

Fighters in Sirte reportedly celebrated the news of his arrest.

And Tripoli was awash with honking car horns and guns firing into the sky. 

But military spokesmen have not yet confirmed the arrest. The NTC previously claimed it captured another of Gaddafi’s son in August. This turned out to be false and he remains at large. So observers have doubts over the veracity of today’s claim. 

Mutassim was his father’s national security adviser. He wielded significantly less power than his older brothers, however. But citizens loathed Mutassim for his role in Gaddafi’s dictatorship.

Neither Gaddafi nor any of his wanted sons have been confirmed killed or captured to date.