Gadhafi's son believed active in Bani Walid

TRIPOLI - Fighters of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said Wednesday that they saw a convoy of about 30 cars traveling in southern Bani Walid which they believe might be of Seif al-Islam, the second son of fallen leader Muammar Gadhafi, and other senior members of the previous regime.

Mahmoud Tawfiq, a spokesman for the NTC's Bani Walid southern front squad, told Xinhua that their fighters will continue monitor and follow up on the convoy, and coordinate with the fighters in other areas in which the convoy travels.

On the battlefield in Bani Walid, about 180 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, Tawfiq said the NTC has been continuing their mopping-up operations in all neighborhoods in the city, and was able to capture about 300 pro-Gadhafi soldiers and mercenaries.

Meanwhile, in the only remaining pro-Gadhafi stronghold, violent clashes were dragging on as of Wednesday between the NTC and Gadhafi diehards in limited areas in Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown, some 450 km east of the capital.

But the NTC fighters have managed to control the entrances to the so-called Number Two neighborhood where the last pockets of Gadhafi loyalists base at, and arrested a number of African mercenaries, a source close to the NTC told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The source added that two NTC fighters were killed and about 40 wounded during Wednesday's clashes in Sirte.