Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Several members of the Gaddafi family were reported to have been killed by a NATO airstrike on Tripoli.
While Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, son of Muammar Gaddafi, was reportedly a member of the military, his children clearly had non-combatant status due to their young age.
CNN reported: “The Libyan government said Sunday that Gadhafi’s son, Saif al-Arab Gadhafi, and three grandchildren died in the strike that destroyed the son’s home in Tripoli. The Libyan government identified the children as Saif al-Arab’s sons Gartaj Hannibal Muammar al-Gadhafi, age 3, and 2-year-old Saif Mohammad al-Gadhafi, as well as Mastoura Hamid Abuzitaia, the daughter of the leader’s daughter Aysha.”
It added that “the building was in a residential area of Tripoli that houses several embassies. Ibrahim called the bombing a “war crime.” The strike destroyed the two-bedroom, single-story house, leaving a massive crater in its place.”
Later, then-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi casted doubt that Saif al-Arab was actually dead. However his brother’s girlfriend later confirmed his death with The Telegraph.
NATO itself reported that it hit “1 Command & Control Building” and “7 Ammunition Storages” in Tripoli on that day but did not mention civilian harm.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of the Green Square (الساحة الخضراء) for which the generic coordinates are: 32.895377, 13.183859. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (16) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]
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A picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
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Another picture supposedly from the site of the incident (via Alwatan Voice)
NATO forces Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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This site was a key node for regime-associated forces in Tripoli, and served as an alternate command authority site for the Libyan leadership. The critical element of this facility was the command building. While several VIP buildings and satellite communication dishes were also located at this site, these were neither targeted nor struck. Destruction of the command building degraded the regime command authority’s backup command and control capabilities and in turn its overall military effectiveness. As noted above, civilians and specific individuals were at no point targeted during OUP. Full-motion video acquired by manned aircraft and UAVs at the time of the strike indicated that no civilians were in the target area. In addition, the strike was conducted at night to reduce the possibility that transient personal would be in the target area. Multiple smaller munitions were utilized on. A single building to minimize collateral damage to surrounding buildings within the installation.
Original strike reports
30 April: In Tripoli area: 1 Command & Control Building, 7 Ammunition Storages.