Gadhafi Son: 'Things Are Fine in Tripoli'

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent, who was reported arrested by rebels yesterday when they advanced on the capital Tripoli, is free. Seif al-Islam turned up in the early morning hours at the Rixos hotel, where foreign journalists are staying in Tripoli under the close watch of Gadhafi regime minders. He then took reporters in a convoy on a drive through parts of the city under the regime's control. He told the reporters: "We are going to hit the hottest spots in Tripoli."

As CNN reports, the younger Gadhafi claimed his troops "have broken the spines of those rats and those gangsters" and that they "will reassure the people that things are fine in Tripoli." The convoy drove around streets full of armed Gadhafi backers, and controlled by roadblocks. It visited several sites where Gadhafi supporters were gathered, ending up outside Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound, where at least one hundred men were waiting for guns to be distributed to volunteers to defend the regime. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)