Moammar Gadhafi killed in hometown of Sirte

Early Thursday morning, reports started emerging out of Libya that former strongman Moammar Gadhafi had been killed in a NATO-led airstrike. Later in the day, opposition National Transitional Council leader and interim government prime minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil confirmed reports of Gadhafi's death, according to the Associated Press. NATO and the White House have yet to independently confirm the reports.

The NTC information minister told Reuters, "He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that." If the news is confirmed, the episode would make Gadhafi the first leader killed as a result of the Arab Spring uprisings, the Associated Press notes in its obituary of the leader, which it published at 10:53 EST.

According to reports from multiple sources, Gadhafi was fleeing a NATO-led rebel attack on the former leader's hometown of Sirte, which had been a last remaining stronghold for Gadhafi forces. According to the Reuters' report, the rebels found the former Libyan strongman hiding in a hole in the ground; (pictured at left)the rebel fighter who found Gadhafi said that the Libyan leader repeated "Don't shoot, don't shoot" upon his capture. The BBC reported that the same rebel fighter was "brandishing" a golden pistol which he said belonged to the Libyan strongman.

Video of Gadhafi Dead