NTC forces claim seizure of Bani Walid

An official from Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has claimed that Bani Walid, one of a few remaining bastions of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been "liberated," Xinhua said. NTC fighters storming Bani Walid "dock with" each other on Monday after entering the city from three sides, Mahmoud Tawfiq, a spokesman for the southern front in Bani Walid, told the news agency. Late on Sunday, local media reported that interim government forces had entered the town center and erected their tricolor flags. An official announcement of Bani Walid's seizure by NTC forces might be made later on Monday, Tawfiq told Xinhua. Mahmoud Boras, a member of the Media Committee of the local council of Bani Walid, said the NTC was able to free the majority of the city, the report said. The oasis town some 180 kilometers from Tripoli and Gaddafi's home city of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast remain the last strongholds of the former regime.