NTC says no idea of Gaddafi's whereabouts

Anti-Gaddafi fighters travel on a vehicle at a strategic checkpoint after retreating from the north of the besieged city of Bani Walid September 19, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

TRIPOLI - The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) said Monday it has still no solid information about the whereabouts of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Amid reports that the NTC was kept out of the southeastern town of Bani Walid by the strong resistance of the remnant Gaddafi forces, military spokesman Ahmed Bani told a press conference here that no matter where Gaddafi is, he is "part of the past now."

Meanwhile, the spokesman said Gaddafi's soldiers were "shooting " and "stealing" in Bani Walid.

Bani failed to confirm whether or not Gaddafi was in Bani Walid, where loyalists of Gaddafi had ambushed the NTC troops on Saturday and forced them into a retreat after killing at least six NTC soldiers and wounding 20 others. He was neither able to give the exact number of the resisting Gaddafi fighters currently there.

On the prolonged clashes in Bani Walid, the NTC spokesman said there were "tactics and procedures."

He said the NTC's offensive bid was upset by the geographical difficulties there. "Bani Walid is between mountains," he stressed, adding that the Gaddafi forces there still possesses snipers and long-range missiles.

But what is certain is that the town has been "100 percent surrounded" by the NTC fighters, Bani said.

The NTC promises that it will not give up Bani Walid, and " would like to send the message to the people there that we (the NTC fighters) are coming," Bani added.