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)
Gartaj Hannibal Muammar al-Gaddafi
3 years old
male
Son of Saif al-Arab Gaddafi
killed
Saif Mohammad al-Gaddafi
2 years old
male
Son of Saif al-Arab Gaddafi
killed
Mastoura Hamid Abuzitaia
Child
male
Daughter of Aysha Gaddafi
killed
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.
