Kusa's wife captured in Tripoli -- report

TRIPOLI, Libya, April 1 (UPI) -- The wife of Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, who has defected, was captured in Tripoli by Libyan forces, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Kusa's wife, whose name was not provided, reportedly was taken into custody at some point during a gunfight Thursday near Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi's Tripoli compound as the embattled leader attempted to impose a "ring of steel" around key government figures to prevent further defections, the newspaper said. She is being interrogated by Gadhafi's "internal security" forces.

"The blocks in that area are the homes to high-ranking [officials] of the state who must live close to Colonel Gadhafi," one local resident told the newspaper.

"People say that some of them were trying to flee with their families when they came under attack from the guards. They gave as they got but there was a panic that the regime had to cover up. In the morning, they were still cleaning up the blood. It was a big operation."

Residents said it was the worst fighting in the capital since protests began in February.

Musa defected to Britain Wednesday after telling the regime he needed medical treatment in Tunisia, but the U.K. government is adamant he will not be granted immunity and is intent on gleaning crucial and timely intelligence about Gadhafi's inner circle. Kusa, who is staying at a safe house in southern England, is said to be in "fragile condition," the Telegraph said.

U.K. intelligence officials reportedly are in talks with a dozen key figures in Gadhafi's government who are considering defecting.

"Defections, there will be more of them, and more the better," said George Robertson, a former defense secretary and former NATO secretary-general.

"The fighting will ebb and flow, and assuredly we will be faced with new dilemmas in the next few weeks. Are we simply going to stand back even if boots on the ground could be decisive?"