Gadhafi says retreat from compound tactical move

TRIPOLI - Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said early Wednesday that the withdrawal from the Bab al-Azizya compound in the capital of Tripoli was a tactical move, local al-Orouba TV reported.

Gadhafi, whose whereabouts remain unknown, said the compound was levelled to the ground by as many as 64 NATO airstrikes, the TV said, adding the defiant leader vowed death or victory in fight against the "aggression."

Libyan rebels Tuesday captured Muammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Azizya compound after heavy fighting and looted an armory inside the vast barracks, while the whereabouts of the embattled Libyan leader and his sons remain unknown to the moment.

Meanwhile, rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdul Jalil told a French TV on Wednesday that some 400 people were killed and 2,000 others injured in three days in clashes between the government forces and the rebel troops in Tripoli.

Jalil added some 600 government troops were captured.