Battleground Tripoli

(CBS/AP)�

TRIPOLI, Libya - Muammar Qaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam resurfaced free and defiant early Tuesday, thwarting Libyan rebel claims that he had been captured and boasting the regime still has control in Tripoli and will crush the rebellion.

While both sides - the rebels and Qaddafi's own shrinking circle of support - have exaggerated facts in the country's months-long fight, the sound of gunfire and rockets increased in central Tripoli on Tuesday morning, proof that reports of an unchallenged rebel takeover were premature.

Sky News' Alex Crawford reported rebel forces were staging an attack on Qaddafi's sprawling compound, Bab al-Aziziya. From her vantage point just several blocks away from the compound, heavy gunfire and explosions were clearly heard.

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Crawford said Qaddafi's failure to unleash more serious firepower on the advancing rebels was a strong indicator that the fighters genuinely maintained the momentum, and it was possible that most of the strongman's remaining forces were being penned-in at Bab al-Aziziya - setting the stage for a final showdown.

Saif al-Islam's sudden ? even surreal ? arrival at a Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists are staying threw the situation in the capital into confusion just a day after rebels entered the capital with surprising ease, sparking a wave of euphoria. It underlined the potential for Qaddafi, whose whereabouts remain unknown, to lash back even as his grip on power seemed to be slipping fast.

Rebels say they control most of Tripoli, but they faced pockets of fierce resistance from regime loyalists firing mortars and anti-aircraft guns. Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, who was in Tripoli, said the "danger is still there" as long as the longtime Libyan leader remains on the run.

He warned that pro-Qaddafi brigades are positioned on Tripoli's outskirts and could "be in the middle of the city in half an hour."

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Tuesday that the "remnants of the Qaddafi regime" were cornered, and it was only a matter of time before the fight was over.

"This is not the sign of some great comeback for the Qaddafi regime," said Clegg in London. Qaddafi "is not roaming freely."

CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen reports that Tripoli's main hospital has been hit by mortar fire, and two doctors were killed by sniper fire. Debris litters the choked hospital corridors and the few doctors and nurses available are desperate for help.

"We have a shortage of everything," a doctor who said he was the only surgeon working at the hospital late Monday night told Sky News. "It's a disaster, in short."

The rebel leadership seemed stunned that Saif al-Islam was free. A spokesman, Sadeq al-Kabir, had no explanation and could only say, "This could be all lies."

Muammar Qaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, waves to troops loyal to his father in Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 23, 2011.

(Credit: AP)

He could not confirm whether Saif al-Islam escaped rebel custody, but he did say that another captured Qaddafi son, Mohammed, had escaped the home arrest that rebels had placed him in a day earlier. On Monday, the rebels had said Saif al-Islam was captured, but did not give details on where he was held. The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court ? which indicted Saif al-Islam and his father ? had confirmed his capture on Monday.

The court, however, said in a statement Tuesday morning that it had never received full confirmation from the rebels that Saif al-Islam was in custody.

Saif al-Islam, with a full beard and wearing an olive-green T-shirt and camouflage trousers, turned up early Tuesday morning at the Rixos hotel, where about 30 foreign journalists are staying in Tripoli under the close watch of regime minders.

Riding in a white limousine amid a convoy of armored SUVs, he took reporters on a drive through parts of the city still under the regime's control, saying, "We are going to hit the hottest spots in Tripoli." Associated Press reporters were among the journalists who saw him and went on the tour.

The tour covered mainly the area that was known to still be under the regime's control ? the district around the Rixos hotel and nearby Bab al-Aziziya, Qaddafi's residential compound and military barracks. The tour went through streets full of armed Qaddafi backers, controlled by roadblocks, and into the Qaddafi stronghold neighborhood Bu Slim.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsMain/~3/Gjrc2Givu2A/main20095841.shtml

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