Ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a maverick who had ruled the country with an iron hand for over four decades, was shot and killed by the rebels today in his hometown of Sirte after weeks of heavy fighting.
The former Libyan strongman died of his wounds after being captured from a hole where he had been hiding. He breathed his last when he was being transported, reports said.
His son Mutassim was also found dead in Sirte, a National Transitional Council (NTC) commander said.
"We announce to the world that Gaddafi has been killed at the hands of revolution," Abdel Hafez Ghoga, a spokesman for the NTC, said.
"It is a historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Gaddafi has met his fate."
Abdul Hakim Belhaj, an NTC military leader, also said that 69-year-old Gaddafi has been killed, pan-Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera reported.
Gaddafi's body was taken to a location which is being kept secret for security reasons, another NTC official was quoted as saying.
Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, was captured by the rebels who shot him and injured him severely with bullets.
Celebrations broke out on the streets of Tripoli on news of capture of Gaddafi with the rebels going around the streets with guns in hands and cars out on the roads honking horns.
Al-Jazeera quoted a senior NTC official as saying that Gaddafi died of his wounds after being captured.
The news came shortly after NTC claimed that it had captured Sirte after weeks of fighting.
NATO and the US State Department said they cannot confirm the reports of Gaddafi's death.
