Gaddafi's sons says kept under house arrest

The eldest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Mohammed, told Al-Jazeera television that he had been detained by rebels and was being kept under house arrest in Tripoli.

"Gunmen surrounded my house and I am still at home and they are outside," he said by telephone from Tripoli.

"They said they will guarantee my safety. They are besieging my house," he added. The sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.

"Yes, the gunfire is inside my house," he said before the line was suddenly cut off.

He later clarified he and his family were well and unhurt.

Rebel National Transitional Council Coordinator Adel Dabbechi confirmed that Gaddafi's younger son Saif Al-Islam had been captured.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, which wants Saif along with his father on charges of crimes against humanity, said he should be handed over for trial.

Gaddafi's eldest son Mohammed Al-Gaddafi had surrendered to rebel forces, Dabbechi told Reuters.

Only five months ago Gaddafi's forces were set to crush the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the leader warning then that there would be "no mercy, no pity" for his opponents.

His forces, he said, would hunt them down "district to district, street to street, house to house, room to room".

However Gaddafi's location remain unknown.

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