Sirte: Libyan interim government fighters hoisted the new national flag above the centre of Sirte on Thursday after completing their capture of Muammar Gaddafi's home town, the last serious pocket of resistance by loyalists of the ousted leader.

A witness said celebratory gunfire broke out among National Transitional Council (NTC) forces as the flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under NTC siege for nearly two months.