Libya's Bani Walid 'liberated': NTC official

TRIPOLI - An official of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said Sunday that Bani Walid, one of a couple of remaining strongholds of fallen leader Muammar Gadhafi, has been "liberated."

Mahmoud Tawfiq, a spokesman of the southern front in Bani Walid, some 180 km southeast of the capital Tripoli, told Xinhua that the NTC fighters will "dock with" each other on Monday after entering the city from three sides.

They will then begin searching for the remaining pockets of Gadhafi loyalists who have been fought the NTC soldiers in the oasis town for weeks.

Tawfiq said that the southern front fighters were able to enter the city heart and will be meeting with the eastern and western squads.

The information cannot be independently verified at the current stage, but Salah Matouk, a field commander in Bani Walid also indicated the NTC's control over the town, where a number of pro-Gadhafi soldiers and mercenaries had been captured.

However, some NTC fighters said they still need time to seek confirmation.