LIBYA UPDATE – AT 10:20 A.M. ET:  Rebels claim they have the famous Libyan colonel and his sons surrounded in an apartment complex.  From Reuters:

TRIPOLI - A group of rebels besieging a cluster of apartment buildings near the Bab al-Aziziyah compound of Muammar Gaddafi said on Thursday that they believed the man who led Libya for four decades was hiding in the buildings with some of his sons.

Rebels were exchanging fire with Gaddafi loyalists inside the buildings. They did not say why they believed Gaddafi and his sons were inside.

"They are together. They are in a small hole," said one of the fighters involved in the battle, Muhammad Gomaa. "Today we finish. Today we will end that."

Libyan commandos fighting Muammar Gaddafi came close to capturing the toppled leader on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding, Paris Match magazine said on Thursday.

Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services from Arab states and Libyan rebels, the French weekly said on its website that these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the Libyan capital.

Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) 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.

Britain's Defense Minister Liam Fox said on Thursday that NATO is supporting Libyan rebels hunting Gaddafi and his sons and has stepped up air raids targeting loyalists.

COMMENT:  If Gaddafi holds out long enough, he could be a contestant on an American reality show.  In fact, "Catch the Dictator," with Donald Trump as host, could make a fortune.  Make sure to catch the tribute to Saddam Hussein.

Fighting is ongoing.  There's no evidence the colonel has left the country.  I suspect they'll get him eventually, maybe even today.

August 25, 2011