Gadhafi Son Sought as Fighting Rocks Sirte

Forces fighting for Libya's new regime say they are on the verge of taking Sirte, Moammar Gadhafi's hometown and one of just two Libyan cities still held by pro-Gadhafi fighters. But a spokesman for the National Transitional Council says that contrary to earlier reports, there has been no confirmation that Gadhafi's son Motassim has been captured in Sirte, although some fighters close to Motassim have been seized.

Celebratory gunfire and fireworks lit up the skies over Tripoli and Benghazi following early reports that Motassim, Gadhafi's fourth son and a former military commander, had been captured, Reuters reports. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, Libya's de facto leader, told the Telegraph that the NTC expects to declare final victory over Gadhafi's forces within a week, clearing the way for elections next year. "Within less than a month we will form a transitional government and the youth and women will have a role in that," he said. (More Sirte, Libya stories.)