Gaddafi's son Khamis killed in clash: Rebel officer

Fallen Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's son Khamis has been killed in a clash near the capital Tripoli, a senior rebel officer said on Monday.

Colonel Al-Mahdi Al-Haragi, in charge of the Tripoli Brigade of the rebel army, said he had confirmation that Khamis was badly wounded in the clash near Ben Walid and Tarhoni.

He was taken to a hospital but died of his wounds and was buried in the area, Al-Haragi said, without giving the timing. No independent confirmation of the death was available.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could not yet independently confirm Khamis's death but said similar information was being received in Washington from 'reliable sources'.

Earlier on Monday, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told Reuters he may apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis.

Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.

The Hague-based ICC has already approved warrants for the arrest of Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Khamis has already been reported killed twice during this year's uprising against his father.

There were rumours in March that he had died after a dissident Libyan air force pilot deliberately crashed his jet into the Gaddafi compound and in August the rebels claimed to have killed him. After both reports he appeared on Libyan television to prove he was still alive.

Khamis was wounded in a 1986 US air attack on Tripoli ordered by President Ronald Reagan. However, he took up a military career as commander of the 32nd Brigade, one of Libya's best equipped military formations that played an important role in the government's counter-insurgency campaign.

Muammar Gaddafi's wife and three of their other children including two sons entered Algeria on Monday morning, Algeria's Foreign Ministry said, drawing criticism from Libya''s rebels who said sheltering the family was an "act of aggression".