Dubai: The Libyan war's focus now is quickly shifting to an all-out manhunt for elusive Muammar Gaddafi.
Wild rumours flew around Tripoli: He's holed up in a network of tunnels linking the Rixos hotel, his Bab Al Aziziyah compound and the sea. He's at his farm near the international airport. He's hiding among the animals at the Tripoli Zoo, which is located in a park that lies between the compound and the hotel, an area still under loyalist control.
Amid these rumours, Britain's Defence Minister Liam Fox said Nato is contributing intelligence and reconnaissance equipment to the search for Gaddafi.
"I can confirm that Nato is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC (National Transitional Council) to help them track down Colonel Gaddafi and other remnants of the regime." he told Sky News.
Raid on home
Meanwhile, Paris Match magazine said Libyan commandos came close to capturing the beleaguered dictator on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding.
Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services, the French weekly said on its website that these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the capital. Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10am on Wednesday after a tip-off from a credible source. But, the magazine said, they found evidence that he had spent at least one night there — though it did not say how recently that was.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting defence sources, said SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and had been ordered to switch their focus to hunting down Gaddafi.
