Who shot Qaddafi? Was it his own bodyguards?

By: David Martin

(CBS News)

WASHINGTON - French warplanes and a U.S. Predator drone on Thursday morning attacked a giant convoy of more than 100 four-wheel drive vehicles fleeing west out of Muammar Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports the convoy tried to evade the aircraft by splitting into smaller parts, but at least 15 of them were hit and their occupants killed. The vehicle, which turned out to be carrying Qaddafi, was damaged but not destroyed. Qaddafi and his bodyguards abandoned the vehicle and took cover in drainage pipes running under the highway where they were cornered by a band of anti-Qaddafi fighters.

"Don't shoot": Qaddafi's last moments

Photos: The death of Muammar Qaddafi

Already festooned with graffiti, it is where Qaddafi, who once lived in splendor, made his last stand. Who shot him is still a mystery. According to one account, it was his own bodyguards, one of whom can be seen lying dead on the ground -- presumably to spare him from being captured. Grandiose to the end, Qaddafi was armed with a golden pistol, which is now a prize trophy for rebels who eight months ago didn't stand a chance against one of the world's most repressive regimes.

As the gruesome video below shows, Qaddafi was taken alive and handled roughly. Whether he would have survived his wounds with better treatment is not known. One of his sons was also killed Thursday and another reported captured. With most of Qaddafi's inner circle either dead, captured or in exile, NATO -- after flying more than 26,000 missions -- can now end its bombing campaign. That could happen as soon as tomorrow although reconnaissance flights are likely to continue a while longer.

Now comes the hard part - establishing a democratic form of government in a country that has known nothing but Qaddafi for the past four decades.

(Below is a graphic video first aired on Al Jazeera showing what is apparently Qaddafi's last moments alive, following his capture by rebels.)

David Martin
David Martin is CBS News' National Security Correspondent.

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by wattyler October 22, 2011 2:50 AM EDT: He shot himself don't you know. He pulled the trigger when he threatened to nationalize oil. If he had just sand and not oil he'd be curled up in front of the TV now with a bowl of cereal. Do we keep a photo album of this somewhere in Hall of Shame? Pics of Arbenz, Mossedegh, Noriega and countless others. Historically this is as bad as what we covertly did to Diem and Lumumba. And yes, our hands our bloody just like the UK's and of course NATO. What is the fix? America needs an enema and the UK needs to be turned into a dessert, that's a start. Too bad "Boney" never crossed the channel and too bad someone didn't "go Ft Sumter" on Jekyll Island in 1910. The world would still have problems but it would have been a start. Let me ask, when did we become Nazis?; Reply to this comment


by justsayn October 22, 2011 1:19 AM EDT: @azereta: Whom would we have the authority to "try"? It was the people of Libya who fought and killed this monster. Sad example of what? - The people finally rebelling? Read your history about the Russian and French rebellions and the American Revolution. Was Gadaffi "tried" by someone when his terrorists shot down Flight 103 in Lockerbi? Did you find those killings "not beautiful"? Do you find freedom to choose your own government beautiful or not? Sad example of what? If you are a U.S. citizen, your country freed itself of the British by killing a lot of people, while they killed a lot of colonists. If you have another means by which a people might free themselves of a dictator, would you explain that to the rest of us? We, along with the rest of the U.N. in a joint operation according to the existing treaties helped the Libyan people like the French helped the colonists in our own revolution. For once we did something right. We allowed the Libyan people to express themselves instead of the U.S. going to war. How refreshing.; Reply to this comment


by thomasvesely October 21, 2011 12:09 PM EDT: @evilsam
$ 1.70 new dollar.issued in china only.; Reply to this comment


by fedup12 October 21, 2011 9:43 AM EDT: think this played out better than we could have imagined.

We just helped their people take control of a bad situation.

They OWN it.

Instead of us rushing in like idiots and taking control of everything and pizzing everyone off. Like Iraq.; Reply to this comment


by nadelio October 21, 2011 9:35 AM EDT: I shot the sheriff. But I did not shoot the deputy...; Reply to this comment


by lilbear925 October 21, 2011 9:33 AM EDT: At this point in time, since neither side was in "official" military uniform, and there is no way to tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys", it is a moot point. The dictator is gone, and Libya now has a colossal job to do to get their country running "normally" again. Only the UN would want to spend a lot of (US donated) money to determine who actually pulled the trigger.; Reply to this comment


by Progress4USA October 21, 2011 9:27 AM EDT: Never realized how much a dead Qaddafi looks just like a live John Boehner...; Reply to this comment


by poorsadsacks October 21, 2011 9:23 AM EDT: Who cares, I don't. The Libyan people got what they wanted, move on.

Poorsadsacks.; Reply to this comment


by nadelio October 21, 2011 9:18 AM EDT: Dubya had the cause: Saddam was after his dad.
Must be something like that this time. Maybe, Qaddafi threatened to Hillary's son-in-law. Much better now, for her.
Family is important.; Reply to this comment


by ozilot October 21, 2011 8:59 AM EDT: Did anyone really want a trial for Ghaddafi? Just think of all that dirty laundry he had on the west.

Did Ghaddafi deserve mercy? Or civilized treatment -- considering what he did to his own people.

Maybe Ghaddafi didn't receive the "idealized" judicial treatment of the west (but then who really does beside the rich?)...but he did reap his own karma...

And in the end isn't Libya better off now that they can move forward without Ghaddafi being a thorn in its side?!?; Reply to this comment

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