Gaddafi 'Shot in the Head' and Moussa Ibrahim Captured - Reports Claim

Conflicting reports saying that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been captured are still surfacing, but it is impossible to confirm whether the colonel has been captured, injured or dead.

NTC official Abdel Majid has told Reuters that Col Gaddafi was found in a convoy which Nato warplanes attacked, as he tried to escape the city of Sirte, now in the full control of the NTC forces.

"He was also hit in his head," the official told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

Anti-Gaddafi radio Voice of Free Libya (VOFL) - based in Benghazi - has reported the arrest. "The confirmed news is that he has been arrested but it is unknown in which condition," the station said.

News agency Reuters reported Gaddafi was shot in both legs by NTC fighters but reports coming in from the Libyan town of Sirte suggest Gaddafi has died of wounds sustained in armed combat, while others say he died as a result of his injuries.

A Nato official says they are checking reports of the capture, according to Reuters but added developments would "take time to confirm".

In the UK, neither the Foreign Office nor Ministry of Defence have been able to confirm the reports or make any official comment.

A website for pro-Gaddafi TV denies that the former Libyan leader has been captured, according to AFP.

The US State Department also says it cannot yet confirm whether the former Libyan leader has been captured.

Meanwhile NTC's Abdul Hakim Al Jalil, commander of the 11th brigade, reportedly said that Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim has also been captured, Reuters is reporting.

Pro-NTC TV is also reporting that Col Gaddafi's son, Mutassim, and former interior minister Abdullah al-Senussi were captured along with Gaddafi, but reports have not been independently verified.

Leaders from around the world have welcomed his capture with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte saying the deposed Libya leader's capture was great news if confirmed.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, keeping in line with Russia's position since the beginning of the conflict said Libyans should decide Col Gaddafi's fate. "The fate of Gaddafi should be decided by the Libyan people," he Ws quoted saying by Russian news agencies, AFP reports.

Col Gaddafi, was toppled in August after more than four decades in power and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.