Khamis al-Gaddafi
| Khamis al-Gaddafi خميس القذافي | |
| | |
| Born | 27 May 1983 Tripoli, Libya |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Libyan |
| Relations | Muammar Gaddafi (father) |
| Alma mater | Frunze Military Academy (Moscow) |
| Religion | Islam |
Khamis al-Gaddafi (Arabic: خميس القذافي; 27 May 1983), the seventh and youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, is a military commander, who is in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan army. During the 2011 Libyan civil war, some sources claimed that Khamis had died, but others continue to refer to it as a rumour. The pro-Gaddafi side have denied the reports, and released what they claimed was live footage of Khamis to the Libyan state television.
Education and career
At the age of three, Khamis was injured in the 15 April 1986 United States bombing of Libya, suffering head injuries when the Bab al-Azizia military compound was attacked in retaliation for the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. He graduated from the military academy in Tripoli, receiving a bachelor’s degree in military arts and science, further graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow and the Academy of the General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. From April 2010 he studied for a masters degree at the IE Business School (formerly known as Instituto de Empresa), in Madrid. However, he was expelled by the institution in March 2011 for "his links to the attacks against the Libyan population".
In 2008 Khamis visited Algeria, where he was received by president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He is the commander of the Khamis Brigade, a special forces brigade of the Libyan military, loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
In 2010 Khamis was an intern at AECOM Technology Corporation.
Reported death
On 20 March 2011, it was reported by the anti-Gaddafi that Khamis al-Gaddafi had died from his injuries sustained when pilot Muhammad Mokhtar Osman allegedly crashed his plane into Bab al-Azizia a week earlier. The crashing of the plane itself had also not been previously reported or confirmed by any other independent media except Al Manara and the Algerian Shuruk newspaper, which is closely connected to Al Manara, and with it there is a possibility of the reports being part of the propaganda operations by the opposition. Khamis has yet to be seen or heard from since the reported suicide plane crash. U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton stated that she was aware of reports that one of Gaddafi's sons had been killed in non-coalition air strikes, after hearing them from "many different sources", but that the "evidence is not sufficient" for her to confirm this.
The pro-Gaddafi Libyan government has denied that he was killed.
Both ABC News and Al Arabiya television have cited the unconfirmed reports of Khamis Gaddafi's death in their articles. On 25 March 2011, Al Arabiya television reported that a source now had confirmed the death of Khamis Gaddafi, but Al Jazeera continues to call it a rumour.
On 29 March, the Libyan government showed footage of what it said was live footage of Khamis Gaddafi greeting supporters in Tripoli, in an attempt to refute the claims, though it has used false live images before.
Sources
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamis_al-Gaddafi
