SIRTE, Libya, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The son of Moammar Gadhafi leading the embattled defense of family hometown Sirte may have been captured and detained for questioning, Libyan officials said.
Mutassim Gadhafi, the ousted dictator's fifth son and a member of his father's inner circle, was initially reported by transitional government advisers to have been captured in a family car trying to flee Sirte and taken for interrogation to Benghazi, where the interim government is based.
National Transitional Council officials in Benghazi said late Wednesday they could not confirm the claims, which initially sparked celebratory gunfire and fireworks in several cities, including Misurata and Tripoli, the BBC reported.
NBC News reported Wednesday rebel soldiers driving past one of its crews said they had raided Mutassim Gadhafi's Sirte compound.
Sirte -- a Mediterranean coastal city where Moammar Gadhafi was born and which Gadhafi named his fleeing government's new capital after rebel forces captured Tripoli -- is one of two remaining strongholds controlled by armed supporters of the old regime. The other is the desert enclave of Bani Walid, where another son, Saif Gadhafi, is believed hiding.
There have been false reports of the capture of senior Gadhafi figures in the past.
Saif Gadhafi, the ousted leader's second son, was reported captured and then apparently freed by rebel forces in late August after they stormed Tripoli in their successful effort to push his father from power after nearly 42 years.
A month later the interim government incorrectly reported fighters near Sirte had captured fugitive Gadhafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. Ibrahim, who was reported to have been dressed as a woman when he was captured, telephoned Syria's Arrai TV two days later to say he was alive and well "near the front of Sirte with 23 fighters."
Moammar Gadhafi is still on the run, believed somewhere in Libya's southern deserts.
Anti-Gadhafi forces closed in on Gadhafi forces in Sirte Wednesday, despite fierce resistance from African mercenaries as well as Gadhafi loyalist troops, Libyan and NATO officials said.
The multipronged ground assault on Sirte by anti-Gadhafi forces was supported by a NATO air campaign.
De facto Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Wednesday he expected to declare victory by next week.
Meanwhile, Britain is calling on Libyan insurgents to quickly form an interim government once forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are defeated in Sirte.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told members of Parliament Thursday the National Transitional Council's leaders agree on "the need for quick formation of a new, inclusive government," The Guardian newspaper reported in Britain.
Hague also told Parliament NATO air operations to protect civilians would continue for as long as necessary.
The NTC already has said the political structure will change when most fighting is over. The newspaper said if Sirte is taken by insurgents, then Gadhafi loyalists likely will be isolated in Bani Walid.
Saif Gadhafi is said to be rallying loyalists in Bani Walid.
At the same time, Britain's mission in Tripoli is calling on the NTC to investigate an Amnesty International report of beatings and abuse of captured Gadhafi soldiers, suspected loyalists and alleged mercenaries, Foreign Ministry officials told The Guardian.
