Autopsy carried out on ex-leader

MISRATA, Libya - An autopsy has been carried out on the body of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, who was controversially killed after being captured alive, an official said on Sunday.

"The autopsy was carried out this (Sunday) morning," Misrata military council spokesman Fathi al-Bashaagha told AFP.

"We had not planned to do an autopsy but Tripoli requested that we make sure things are done correctly," he said.

The judge in charge of organizing the autopsy confirmed that the body of Gadhafi, 69, had been examined, adding he was waiting for a report on the causes of death.

Since he was killed on Thursday trying to flee his hometown of Sirte, Gadhafi's body has been held in a refrigerated chamber outside Misrata, drawing large crowds wanting to view the remains of the man who ruled Libya for decades.

An autopsy was also carried out, on Saturday, on the body of Mutassim Gadhafi, a son of the former leader, who was likewise captured in Sirte on Thursday and displayed next to his father.

Stitches were visible on the body of Mutassim, said an AFP journalist at the scene who, however, did not see any traces of an autopsy on Gadhafi's corpse.

The new Libyan authorities originally said the country's former leader would be buried in a secret place to prevent any kind of pilgrimage to his grave in the future.

AFP