Libya rules out Gaddafi post-mortem but promises probe into killing

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MISRATA, Libya, Oct 22 (AFP): Military commanders in the Libyan city of Misrata said Saturday that no post-mortem would be carried out on the body of Muammar Gaddafi despite concerns over how the toppled dictator died. Interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said an investigation was being conducted into the circumstances of Gaddafi's killing following his capture, bloodied but still alive, during the fall of his hometown Sirte Thursday, after several foreign governments and human rights watchdogs posed questions. But the military leadership in Misrata, where Gaddafi's body had been stored in a vegetable market freezer overnight and was again put on display for hundreds of curious onlookers Saturday, insisted the inquiry would involve no autopsy. "There will be no post-mortem today, nor any day," Misrata military council spokesman Fathi al-Bashaagha told the news agency. "No one is going to open up his body." His comments were confirmed by two other Misrata military chiefs. Bashaagha said that the new regime's military commander for the capital, Abdelhakim Belhaj, was expected to travel to Misrata later Saturday to view the corpse of the man who ruled Libya with an iron rod for 42 years. But he said there were no immediate plans for National Transitional Council (NTC) chief Abdel Jalil to visit. "Abdel Jajil did not come yesterday and is not coming today, and for the moment it is not expected that he will come."The interim leader was in the main eastern city of Benghazi Saturday visiting some of the wounded from the eight-month uprising that felled Gaddafi. AFP From Brussels adds: NATO announced plans Friday to end its seven-month mission in Libya on October 31 but will issue a formal decision next week after consulting the United Nations and Libya's interim authorities. "We agreed that our operations are very close to completion and we have taken a preliminary decision to end Operation Unified Protector on October 31," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after lengthy talks in Brussels with ambassadors of the 28-member alliance on when and how to wrap up the campaign. "In the meantime, I will consult closely with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council," Libya's interim authority, he added. "I'm very proud of what we have achieved, together with our partners, including many from the region." NATO would continue to "monitor the situation and retain the capacity to respond to threats to civilians, if needed," Rasmussen added a day after the death of Muammar Gaddafiand the fall of his last strongholds. Asked to confirm that a NATO strike against Gaddafi's convoy near Sirte Thursday was unintentional, Rasmussen said the former Libyan leader had never been a target, while NATO indicated it only learned later of his location. The transatlantic military alliance was also unaware of the whereabouts of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, according to Rasmussen.