Libya rebels launch final bid to defeat Gadhafi

TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel forces began to purge Tripoli's streets of diehard gunmen still loyal to fugitive Muammar Gadhafi on Thursday in the final phase of the battle for the Libyan capital.

As a volley of shellfire broke the morning calm in Tripoli, rebels said they were confident they could mop up soldiers clinging to a leader now on the run and presumed to be in hiding in the country he ruled for four decades.

"The end will only come when he's captured, dead or alive," said Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), who offered amnesty to any of Gadhafi's entourage who killed him and announced a reward worth more than $1 million for his capture.