Rebels: Gaddafi's Son 'Killed In Air Strike'

Rebel commanders say one of Colonel Gaddafi's most feared sons has been killed in an air strike 60km away from Tripoli - as it emerges other members of the dictator's family have fled to Algeria.

Khamis Gaddafi is said to have been in an armoured Toyota Land Cruiser when it was reportedly blasted off the road by a missile apparently launched from a Nato Apache helicopter.

Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, who is at the scene in Tarunah, southeast of the capital, said a man claiming to be Khamis' bodyguard confirmed that he had died in the vehicle.

The explosion incinerated the 4x4 and was so intense it set nearby trees on fire, Ramsay reports.

A senior rebel officer in Tripoli said Khamis had been badly wounded and taken to hospital, where he died of his wounds.

Meanwhile, the Algerian foreign minister has said the dictator's wife and three of his other children had escaped to the country earlier today.

The rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC), which is in the process of forming an administration to run the country, has said such sheltering of Col Gaddafi's family members was an "act of aggression".

It said it would seek the extradition of wife Saifa, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammed and Hannibal.

The British Foreign Office said it was aware of the situation, which it said was "a matter for the NTC".

Mahmoud Shamman, spokesman for the NTC, said: "We are warning anybody not to shelter Gaddafi and his sons. We are going after them in any place to find them and arrest them."

Earlier, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Khamis Gaddafi may join his father and brother, Saif al Islam, on the court's most-wanted list.

They and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi face arrest warrants on charges of crimes against humanity.

Although the whereabouts of Col Gaddafi himself are unknown, there is widespread speculation among rebels that he is holed up in Sirte, 220 miles (360km) east of Tripoli.

Rebel commanders say they readying themselves to enter the the former leader's home town for a final battle to gain full control of Libya.

Over the weekend, anti-Gaddafi fighters captured Bin Jawad, 100 miles (150km) to the east of Sirte, before they pushed on to the town of Nawfaliyah, 50 miles (75km) away.

The rebels have now pushed Gaddafi forces back to Wadi al Ahmar, less than 40 miles (65km) from the town, despite coming under rocket fire.

Rebel commander Mohammed al Fortiya, in Misratah, said: "We are negotiating with the tribes for Sirte's peaceful surrender."

But the NTC warned that talks for Sirte's peaceful handover would not go on forver.

Sky's security editor Sam Kiley has been travelling with the rebels as they continue their advance.

He said they have started to send heavy weapons forward in order to keep their momentum up for what they "hope will be their final battle".

"The size of the pro-Gaddafi forces is very difficult to estimate but the rebels believe there are substantial defences dug into the area and we have seen a lot of incoming heavy artillery.

"A relatively small number of well-armed and well-trained people can actually appear to be more numerous than they really are.

"It's this which gives an indication that there is someone in command and there's still a structure."

Kiley said recent Nato bombing had opened the way for the forces to advance into the "last stepping stone before Sirte".

Rebel commander Fadl Allah Haroun said they hoped Nato would bomb Scud missile launchers and possible weapons warehouses in Sirte.

The chairman of the NTC, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, has said Col Gaddafi is still a threat to the country and the world.

He added: "I call for continued protection from Nato and its allies from this tyrant."