Libya

NATO Denies Targeting Gaddafi

After strike kills youngest son.

NATO is sticking to the script on this one. Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard insisted that NATO is not trying to kill Muammar Gaddafi, after a NATO strike on the Libyan leader's residential compound reportedly killed Gaddafi's son and three of his grandchildren Saturday. The alliance said the villa complex was “a known command and control building,” and so was a valid military target in its campaign to eliminate threats to Libyan civilians. "All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gaddafi regime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals," said Bouchard. But Russia, which has been critical of the NATO action from the beginning, said the strike shows “the purpose of the anti-Libyan coalition is to physically destroy Gaddafi.” Muammar Gaddafi himself is believed to have been present at the compound, but a government spokesman says he was unharmed. The son who was killed, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, 29, was reportedly something of a black sheep in the family, and doesn't play nearly as large a role in the regime as his older brother Saif al-Islam. In fact, he spent most of his time in Munich and many Libyans say they've never seen his picture.