Gaddafi loyalists said Monday that they had captured 17 mercenaries, including French and British "technical experts",who had assisted the rebel-led Transitional National Council in its assaults on Bani Walid.

"A group was captured in Bani Walid consisting of 17 mercenaries. They are technical experts and they include consultative officers," Gaddafi spokesman Ibrahim Moussa said on Syrian news channel Arrai, as cited by UK Telegraph.

"Most of them are French, one of them is from an Asian country that has not been identified, two English people, and one Qatari,", he added.

His claims could not be immediately verified.

In the meantime, NATO, French and British officials rejected reports that NATO troops had been captured by pro-Gaddafi forces.

The battle for Bani Walid between between supporters and opponents of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi started on September 16.

The attempts of TNC fighters to seize Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, continue.

All other key points in Libya, including the capital Tripoli, are under the control of the interim government.

According to reports of international media, British special forces played a key role in the rebel takeover of Tripoli.

Private security firms have also been said to support the rebel-led Libyan government.