NATO planes are on the search for persecuted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the Libyan desert, reports the Daily Telegraph.

UK Sentinel planes are using special radars to survey transport columns crossing the desert, as some believe that Gaddafi might have fled Tripoli.

The Libyan capital - the Colonel's most faithful stronghold - has come under an unprecedented rebel and NATO joint attack since Sunday.

Reports of the gains of rebels are still controversial, with international correspondents reporting that at some places the city is calm and at other the government is in control.

Earlier Gaddafi's eldest son Saif al-Islam stated that his father is safe and sound in Tripoli and will lead the fight to victory.

Others are speculating on his whereabouts, as NATO continues to load air strikes at Gaddafi's compound in Bab al-Aziziya.

Officially NATO operates under a mandate by the UN to impose a weapons embargo and no-fly zone over Libya, in order to protect the civilian population.

NATO has never officially admitted it wants to kill or capture Muammar Gaddafi, though bombings of his residences have effectively confirmed that.

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