this 2009 speech at the u.n. was typical. >> translator: we are not committed to obey the rules or resolutions of the councils with this information because it is undemocratic -- >> reporter: what was supposed to be a 15-minute talk ram balanced on more than 90 minutes. but while he sometimes appeared a clown on the world stage, his actions were often deadly. in the mid-80s he funneled money and weapons to support the palestine liberation organization's fight against israel. the irish republican army's efforts to defeat british rule in northern ireland. and he viciously targeted americans. in 1986, libyan agents were accused of bombing a berlin nightclub killing two americans and a turk. u.s. president ronald reagan responded by bombing tripoli, targeting gadhafi's house. the raid killed more than 100 people, including gadhafi's own daughter. two years later, pan am flight 103 blew up over the tiny village of lockerbie, scotland, raining debris and taking 270 lives. investigators traced the attack to libya. when libya refused to turn over the suspects, the u.n. imposed tough sanctions leaving the country isolated and increasingly destitute. after 11 years as an international outcast, gadhafi cut a deal. he gave up the lockerbie bombing suspects for trial, and after the u.s. invaded iraq, he surprised the world by agreeing to destroy all of his chemical, nuclear and biological weapons. gadhafi soon welcomed western oil companies like bp and total into libya, but questions lingered about whether some western oil contracts were traded for scotland's release of one of the convicted lockerbie bombers. and he didn't give up the bizarre behavior. on a 2009 visit to italy, he invited 200 models to his ambassador's house, paying each $75 to listen to lectures on islam and giving each a copy of the koran. back home, patience was running thin. after more than 40 years, rebellion bubbled up in the eastern part of the country, quickly spreading across libya. as his government disintegrated, he addressed the nation from the same house bombed by the u.s. in 1986. >> translator: this is my country, the country of my grandfathers. >> reporter: he vowed to die a martyr in libya. >> breaking news now to report out of libya. we have been telling but what happened when moammar gadhafi was captured and then killed. and there was some news, concern, exactly who was with him, which son was with him. we're getting new information about that. >> the national transitional council said a few hours ago that another son of moammar gadhafi was killed. now al arabiya television is reporting that saif al islam gadhafi, the western face, sort of the friendly face of libya when it came to negotiating an end to the nuclear program, when it came to negotiating a settlement with the lockerbie bombing victims, that is saif al islam gadhafi. now reports coming from al arabiya he has been killed, the 39-year-old killed in libya today, the same day his father was killed by rebel fighters. >> you saw early wrer in the summer when all of the uprising was happening in libya, he was the face of the government there, of the gadhafi government there and had -- was the spokesman for his father, born in 1972. he was 39 -- would have been 39 years old. >> i would caution though to be just a little bit careful with this information, because though the moammar goadhafi news was confirmed, you remember several weeks -- i should say several months now we heard he was captured and was not in the end. >> that's why the secretary of state this morning -- there were reports of the same thing, moammar gadhafi had been killed and it turned out not to be true. this time it is true and this time we're learning about saif al islam. let's bring in cnn's wolf blitzer now for some analysis. this breaking news now, and hala said, we have to be careful because it is reported by al arabiya, not cnn's reporting here. >> right. there had been previous reports over these many months that one another of gadhafi's sons had been killed and those reports proved to be inaccurate. let's be cautious little bit. but if it is true saif al islam was killed together with his father today, that's major, major news. dan rivers is our man in tripoli. dan, have you gotten independent confirmation that either one of the sons was killed today in this operation? >> reporter:. no, we haven't, wolf. we've been hearing rumors earlier on today but not independently. the ntc held a press conference and basically playing for time a little bit when it comes to the specifics of how moammar gadhafi was killed and any details about his sons. we haven't gotten any independent confirmation of that. this is what used to be called green square. don't know if the cameraman can just give you a little view of what it is now, it is a sea of the new flags of the new libya. they've renamed it martyr's square. it is full of people here not only celebrating but poignantly reflecting on the who are roars of the gadhafi regime. some of them are holding photos of loved ones who died either in the fight to liberate libya or who died at the hands of the gadhafi regime. so it is not all about celebration and laughter, but there is certainly a huge sense of relief here, a huge sense of this as a day of enormous import, of emore muss history. the 20th of october i think will be a day that i think no one here will ever forget. i'm sure they'll be naming streets after it for decades to come and i'm sure they'll be keechg this in schools and history lessons for decades to come as well as the day that libya was finally liberated from colonel gadhafi. >> so the celebration in the meantime continues but all of the information, all of the circumstances surrounding the killing of moammar gadhafi and whether or not, as al arabiya reports, saif al islam was killed in the same operation as well, all still remains very murky. we are getting more information. dan, stand by. i'll come back to you shortly. we'll take quick break. breaking news will continue. libya's ambassador here to the united states is here at cnn. we'll be speaking with him live in just a moment. we'll get the very latest information from libya's man in washington when we come back. ♪ it was the best day ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors. we make a great pair. right, totally. uh... that's what i was thinking. covering the things that make the outdoors great. call or click today. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $7.8 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ months before gadhafi's death, rebel fighters established the national transitional council. the former libyan justice minist minister became chairman. council formed an interim government naming mahmoud jibril the prime minister. jibril has promised to build "a state of institutions and a state of law." so far the council's financial body has received $662 million in international loans and payments from libya's assets that were frozen and held here in the united states. despite allegations of financial corruption by the council's money managers, the prime minister jibril has promised full transparency in its economic dealings. joining us now, the ambassador of the libyan national transitional council to the united states. he's recognized as libya's am here in washington. he was libya's ambassador during the gadhafi regime. he broke with gadhafi. he's now the ambassador of the new government. mr. ambassador, thanks very much for coming in. let's get to some of the important news. first of all, can you confirm that saif al islam, the son of gadhafi, is in fact dead? >> i just heard the news when i'm step in cnn. i have no time to call tripoli to find out. but i believe this would be his end if he's not dead, then they would capture him very soon. i am sure of that. the family and sons, they have no place to go, no place to hide anymore. libya is free from them, from their mercenaries. >> because al arabiya is reporting that saif al islam is dead. did you know anything about the other son? do you know if he's alive or dead? was he with his father at the time of this incident this morning when gadhafi was killed? >> well, my information from the ntc members this morning that both of them were killed, that gadhafi and sons and also the minister of defense, if i may call him "minister," the three of them have been killed. >> the former minister, the minister during the gadhafi regime. >> during gadhafi regime. >> do you know the circumstances? have you been told by your government in tripoli the circumstances, how moammar gadhafi was killed? i specifically ask because there's a lot of questions still out there. did that nato air strike on some convoy in sirte this morning, was that part -- did that lead to the death eventually of gadhafi? >> well, the details i have, there was a convoy of gadhafi and was engaged in exchanging fires with the revolutionaries and gadhafi were killed. but to me if you ask me, wolf, i am not really very interested in the details how gadhafi was killed. for me, gadhafi better to be killed than captured alive. i think this is less problem for us, even the libyan people. i think they want to see him alive, but i think this will be an issue. i believe that he was killed because they -- his assistants or his bodyguard, they don't stop shooting the revolutionaries then because of this that he was killed. >> so it doesn't make any difference to you whether he survived the battle, was wounded, but then later executed by some of the libyan forces. you don't care -- >> no, no, no. i do care that the revolutionary will not be executing him if they captured him alive. this is very important issue. i think all the libyans, they need to see him alive if they can get it. but we don't know if gadhafi has been shot dead before the revolutionary they get him. nobody can claim at all that he's been killed after he's been captured alive. it is not true at all. libyans, as i said, they want to see him alive and they want to capture him and they want to ask him. not only the libyan, maybe the international community, the icc, international court of criminals. they all want to see him alive. >> because i know that there have been -- there were many suggestions by you and other transitional authorities in libya that maybe he could be tried in both libya, as well as subsequently at the i understand criminal court in the netherlands. i know you were thinking about all those legal aspects. but all of those questions right now moot given the fact that gadhafi is dead. do you know what they're going to do with his body right now? i ask the question because the obama administration was so sensitive when it killed bin laden in pakistan, in abbottabad pakistan. they took the body and buried it at sea in accordance with islamic law. do you know what your government is going to do with moammar gadhafi's body? >> well, i believe that according to islamic instruction, that a dead body have to be buried. this is the normal procedures and i think -- and i'm sure that the ntc, they will do the same thing with the body of gadhafi. the mercenaries when they captured them or when they found them dead, then they do the same thing in misratah, sirte, all the cities. they take them and they bury them. it will be the same thing for gadhafi's body and the rest of his family if any of them has been killed. yeah. that's -- we have to respect the dead people, dead people. >> and will it be at a location that will be well known? i ask the question only because he probably has some followers out there who may decide they want to create a shrine around that grave site, if you will. is that going to be at a marked grave or will it be unknown to the public? >> well, wolf, i can tell you the chapter of gadhafi is over. the gadhafi sent libyans a terror. nothing more than that. a nightmare. if he is -- if he's grave is known to the libyans or is not known to the libyans, i think it will make no difference for libyans who suffered for the last 42 years from gadhafi. it may be for his own family, that's true. but libyans, they bury their dead in a very humble way. we don't have this many of marbles and things like that. you can see them, but usually the libyans, they bury their dead in a very simple way. >> you're the ambassador of libya to the united states. what do you want to say to the american people, to the obama administration, members of congress, and nato, for that matter, for the assistance that you received that led up to the overthrow of the gadhafi regime and now to his death. >> i remember very well, wolf, when you ask me this question maybe second time you interview me, what i do want from obama. what i want to tell president obama. and i told him my message at that time that he should help the libyans. now i want to tell through you, through the cnn, that the president, the american people, the capitol hill, the media, thank you very much what you did for libyans. they have to be proud. americans have you to be proud because they take the lead. took the lead for the first few weeks to help the libyan -- or to stop gadhafi from killing his own people. but now the war is over. there are so many challenges. the relation between libya and united states is already changed. when we process even visas for the americans, it is completely different. it is more faster than it used to be. the confidence is there, but we need the americans to be close to us. we need them to help us to build our democratic institution. we need them also to help the libyans to build their economy. the american companies are invited to participate in reconstruction of libya. and also, training libyan people. this is a very emergent case. the other important thing that the libyans face, this is a great challenge. i'm really grateful to secretary clinton, to senator mccain who went to libya and when they came back then, they called for demonstration to help the treatment of the libyan agents either by sending hospital ship or by opening the military hospitals in europe to receive the libyan injured. this is a great challenge now in front of the ntc. and of course i have to thank nato and our neighbor countries who help us. thank you very much, america. you took the right decision, you know, to help the libyan people. the libyan people are sending a strong message to all over the world -- the dictatorship, they have no more place on the earth. >> because it wasn't just nato and the united states and canada, for that matter. it was almost -- >> and canada winl's i'm sorry. >> your fellow arab countries, qatar and jordan were also helping military. let me wind up, mr. ambassador, with two sensitive questions. senator mccain said earlier it the day when he was in libya recently your government would consider reimbursing american taxpayers for the cost of helping you liberate your country from gadhafi. the vice president, joe biden, just said it was $2 billion. are you open to that to reimbursing the united states for the expense of all of the operations, nato operations, in libya? >> well, think this is one of the issues that can be discussed among -- between the libyans and the americans. but i believe -- this is my personal view -- if the american reimbursed, then it will not give the same feeling to the libyans when the americans came to help them just for the sake of democracy, for the sake of human rights, for the sake of human being. when the gadhafi, he came, start killing his own people, using a different kind of weapon and the americans, they speed up and came up with the strong position to help the libyan people. but at the same time, we do understand the economic problems facing united states and europeans and i think the libyans, they will be ready to discuss any kind of issues concerning this. >> because libya itself, as you and all of our viewers know, potentially a wealthy country given the fact that some major oil exporting country. one final question. the convicted pan am killer, the pan am families would like to see him -- assuming he survives -- he's been alive for two years since coming back from scotland, they'd like to see him brought say to the united states for questioning. are you open to that assuming he is healthy enough to do that? >> well, wolf, you know that megrahi is a very sick man. he's living with oxygen beside his bed. i think the thing may be americans and libyans and the justice want for him that if he has any information that he can give to help us to establish how the lockerbie bombing was made during the gadhafi's in power. but apart from that, i believe that the american families, they have more compassion and they are -- do understand the situation and the libyans societies also and the traditions and i don't think that they will be seeking for megrahi to go back to scotland or to be captured by other, you know, countries for more trials. i think what we need, we need how this has been made -- or how this was done, you know, if he has any useful information. but if i saw the last photo of him, is he a very sick man. >> mr. ambassador, i know you are a very happy man on this day. the confirmation that gadhafi is dead, maybe one or both of his sons, his other sons may be dead as well according to al arabiya. we'll continue our conversation but thanks so much for joining us. thanks for coming in. >> thank you for your support. thank you very much. i appreciate your help and your understanding and your support of the libyan people's strungles. thank you for every country helping libya. >> the libyan ambassador to the united states, mr. ambassador, thanks very much. much more of the breaking news coverage for our viewers here in the united states and around the world. after a short break, we'll also have a time line of the gadhafi rise to power. welcome back now to our continuing coverage of the capture and eventual death of moammar gadhafi. >> these reports that at least one of the sons of moammar gadhafi is also dead. saif al islam, reports that he's been killed. you're seeing a live feed there of the white house. we are expecting president obama to give -- to make a statement a little bit later on at 2:00 p.m. eastern on the reported death of moammar gadhafi. >> the president will do that at the top of the hour. in just about 30 minutes. he'll do it from the rose garden in the united states. moammar gadhafi was a man of grand am bigss and sometimes ruthless methods, hala. he was born in 1942 near the libyan town of sirt. he studied at the military academy in benghazi. ironically the seat of the revolution that ousted him. he married twice, fathered eight children and adopted two others. . september of 1969 he led the revolt that toppled libya's king and he never looked back since then. in 1986, president reagan ordered tripoli bombed over libya's role in a nightclub bombing that killed two u.s. troops in berlin and then two years later pan am flight 103 was bombed over lockerbie, scotland and libyan agents were implicated in that. >> in 2003 after the invasion of iraq, gadhafi publicly renounced weapons of mass destruction. b