TRIPOLI - Libyan rebels Wednesday besieged a group of apartment buildings near the seized military compound of Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli where they believed the embattled strongman may be hiding, Al-Jazeera television reported.

Rebels were trying to advance toward the buildings but met fierce sniper fire from Gaddafi's loyalists, the report said, adding that the rebels' speculation has yet to be confirmed.

The rebels' National Transitional Council offered a $1.67 million bounty for the capture of the former Libyan leader, who has ruled the oil-rich state for 42 years.

The whereabouts of Gaddafi and his sons remained unknown after the rebels overran his military bastion, Bab al-Aziziya, in Tripoli Tuesday after a day of heavy fighting.

Rebels claimed they have so far controlled 90 percent of Tripoli, but intense fighting was still going on in many parts of the city between the rebels and Gadaffi's loyalists.