Inside Gaddafi's secret tunnels:

Rebels break into labyrinth for the first time as they claim to have leader and sons cornered

• Tyrant is surrounded in an apartment building, rebels claim
• Syrian TV station broadcasts Gaddafi message as battle increases
  
• Dictator's spokesman says he has high morale and is moving around
  
• Rebels raid safe-house where Gaddafi 'stayed overnight'
• Gunmen defending Rixos Hotel to prevent access to tunnels
• Gaddafi 'disguised himself as woman' to flee compound
• British SAS on the ground in hunt for Gaddafi
• Rebels find huge stockpiles of food, medicine and fuel
• Half of all rebel leadership moving to Tripoli to facilitate takeover
  

By Rick Dewsbury and Emily Allen

Last updated at 8:07 PM on 25th August 2011

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About 1,000 rebels were this afternoon locked in a ferocious gun fight with Gaddafi's forces at a besieged apartment where they say the dictator and his sons are cornered.

The gunmen are exchanging fire with Gaddafi loyalists shooting from the windows of the buildings at the Bab al-Azizia compound. The rebels believe that the fierce resistance indicates that Gaddafi and his sons are hiding there. There has been no official confirmation of his whereabouts.

'They are together. They are in a small hole,' said one of the fighters involved in the battle, Muhammad Gomaa. 'Today we finish. Today we will end that.'

The rebels appeared to be closing in on the leader after they dramatically broke into one of the underground tunnels that Colonel Gaddafi is believed to have used in his escape.

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On the trail of the tyrant: A rebel fighter holding an AK47 climbs down ladders into a bunker under Gaddafi's main compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli today

Into the darkness: Rebels shine torches down the tunnel as they go on the hunt for Gaddafi in his labyrinth

An overturned golf buggy that Gaddafi would have once used to get around the tunnels is seen, and right, he rides through the grounds of his compound in a similar cart

As the gunfight raged and bodies littered the streets, pro-Gaddafi TV station al-Orouba broadcast an audio message in which the dictator called for women and children to descend on Tripoli to 'purify' the city of rebels who he called 'rats, crusaders and unbelievers'.

He said: 'We must resist these enemy rats, who will be defeated thanks to the armed struggle. Leave your homes and liberate Tripoli.

'Libya is for the Libyan people and not for the agents, not for imperialism, not for France, not for Sarkozy, not for Italy.

'Tripoli is for you, not for those who rely on NATO.'

It comes as rebels stormed the Abu Salim district in the south of the city, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi in the capital, following a suspected NATO airstrike.

Rebel fighters were sweeping through houses to flush out snipers and were emerging with dozens of prisoners.

A Libyan rebel walks past the bodies of loyalist fighters lying dead at the south entrance of the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli

Bloodied bodies of loyalist fighters lie dead at the south entrance of the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli today

A dead body lies on the ground outside the Gaddafi compound in Tripoli surrounded by abandoned cars

Gaddafi's spokesman said he is in Libya and leading the fight against the rebels.

Moussa Ibrahim says Gaddafi is safe, healthy and his morale is high. Ibrahim said in a telephone call that Gaddafi 'is indeed leading the battle for our freedom and independence every day.'

Ibrahim refused to say where in Libya Gaddafi was. Ibrahim added he was in an undisclosed location in Libya and constantly on the move. Ibrahim was recognizable by his voice.

Meanwhile, also this afternoon it emerged soldiers from the elite 22 SAS Regiment dressed in Arab civilian clothing were helping rebels track down Col Gaddafi, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Hidden: Rebel fighters enter one of the secret vaults in the main compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya

Libyan rebels seize boxes of ammunition hidden underground by Gaddafi's forces in the al-Maser forest in southern Tripoli

Rebels have also discovered huge stock piles of fuel, food and medicine horded by Gaddafi which could be used to help the humanitarian situation developing in war-torn nation which aid agencies have warned could be 'catastrophic.'

It is believed there is enough food to feed a city of four million people for a year - twice the size of Tripoli.

In Benghazi, rebels said half of their leadership had moved to Tripoli to begin facilitating the takeover of power. Fighting is also on going today in an attempt to secure loyalist Sirte - Gaddafi's hometown - Bin Jawad and Sebha.

Earlier today rebels discovered a huge ammunition dump in the grounds of Rixos hotel in Tripoli and in a forest in the south of the city. At least six deep pits full of bullets, bombs and rockets were taken by the rebels.

Rebel gunmen forced their way into Gaddafi's rat-run under Tripoli after battling loyalists in the grounds of the dictator's compound.

Rebel fighters search a room in the bunker of the main Gaddafi compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli. A row of phones are seen on a desk

Where is he? Rebels search a bed in a bunker under the main compound

There they found a labyrinth of air conditioned tunnels leading into the darkness. Along the route was a bunker containing food supplies, beds and gas masks.

They believe that Gaddafi had used the bunker at some point during the conflict as he plotted his next moves - and they are currently still searching the tunnels for clues of the dictator's whereabouts.

Carrying AK47s, the rebels were shown on Al Jazeera moving cautiously through the high tunnels. They opened heavy doors along the way and came across dozens of vents.

Unverified images of what appears to be rebels freeing prisoners from the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli yesterday

Nouri Echtiwi, a rebel spokesman in Tripoli, said rebels had released several hundred detainees from a prison in Abu Slim.

A Libyan man loots an exercise bike, a child's bikes and other goods from the Bab al-Aziziya compound today

Stocking up: Libyan rebels loot carpets and cuddly toys from Gaddafi's compound

FROM MANCHESTER TO TRIPOLI

Mohammed Said, 18, a student from Manchester has returned to his homeland to help fight - but has to return to college in five days.

Armed with an AK47 he told Radio 4: 'It's as dangerous as it gets. I've seen death maybe a million times up until now. I almost lost my finger.

'I have hated war and the sound of guns but it's what Gaddafi has made us do. I hate it.'

He said he plans to return home to finish his degree before coming back to Libya and helping to re-build his homeland.

He said: 'Hopefully in five years things might be back to normal.'

But with heavy fighting above ground - including around the Abu Salim prison where there have been fears of torture and massacre - and fears of booby traps and ambushes inside the tunnels, they were unable to go any further.

Gaddafi's escape from his compound is likely to have been through the network of tunnels. Records from the 1980s, when a paranoid Gaddafi was locked in standoffs with the U.S., suggest that 2,000 miles underground mazes stretch under Tripoli and beyond into the desert.

The multi-billion pound project, which may have been carried out by western firms, came at a time when Libya was developing nuclear weapons. Heavily-fortified entrances to the nuclear-proof vaults are concealed and along the route there are further barriers and booby traps.

The dictator is believed to have most recently used wide tunnels below his 1.5 mile wide compound to travel in armoured vehicles with his family - including son Saif and daughter Aisha - along with his generals, aides and confidants.

Battle: A gunfight rages outside the apartment in Tripoli where rebels believe they have Gaddafi surrounded

Hunt for Gaddafi: Smoke rises above buildings following a fight at Souk Bouslim, east of Tripoli, as rebels closed in on a building they believed Gaddafi was hiding inside

Breaking down the door: A Libyan rebel fighter kicks down a front door during a house search for snipers in the final push to flush out Gaddafi's forces

Weapons at the ready: Libyan rebel fighters arrive at the Abu Slim area as they hunt the dictator and his sons

'We're told this is the entrance to the bunker, the tunnel that goes right undergound,' Al Jazeera correspondent Andrew Simmons said as he raced towards the entrance.

The group found a tunnel that stretches further under the earth but they were unable to go any further.

Opposition forces said that they are being consumed above ground with so much fighting that they cannot yet muster the resources to track Gaddafi through the tunnels.

On the trail of the rat: Rebels and a TV reporter break into entrance to an underground bunker inside Gaddafi's compound, but the dictator has already fled

Cautious: A rebel clutches his AK47 as he moves cautiously through Gaddafi's underground tunnel. The labyrinth is likely to be lined with booby traps

Preparing for combat: A rebel tries on one of the gas masks that were found in one of the underground bunkers. Food supplies and beds were also discovered

Gaddafi's forces are continuing to launch heavy attacks above ground in order to prevent rebels from getting into the tunnels.

The rebels told Al Jazeera that they believe Gaddafi's forces are using the tunnels to escape attacks and reappear in different locations.

Experts believe that the Rixos hotel, where journalists were held hostage but were freed this afternoon, is being heavily defended in order to prevent rebels from exploring its tunnels.

Catch me if you can: On-the-run Colonel Gaddafi has a £1m bounty on his head to be caught dead or alive

Gaddafi's son Saif is believed to have travelled some two miles underground in a white limo from the compound to the hotel when he unexpectedly appeared there on Sunday evening.

If rebels are able to gain access to the tunnel in the hunt for Gaddafi, it could lead them closer to the leader. He could also be staying with his family, aides and generals in an underground bunker until he is able to take back control.

One of the suggestions is that Gaddafi used the tunnels to escape to a safehouse where he is currently staying in Tripoli.

Libyan commandos said they came close to capturing the toppled leader on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding.

Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services from Arab states and Libyan rebels, Paris Match magazine said these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the Libyan capital.

Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10 am on Wednesday after a tip-off from a credible source. But it is claimed they found evidence that he had spent at least one night there - though it did not say how recently that was.

Two more tunnels are believed to come up at the Mitiga Airport four miles away and at ports on the Tripoli coast. From there Gaddafi could reach safe-havens, however, all known transport routes are being guarded by rebels.

It has also been suggested that the tunnels could surface in the sea, from where the Gaddafi family could use a submarine to travel around the Africa.

The tunnels are believed to be so long that they could come up directly at Sirte or Sabha. Alternatively they may surface in the desert, from where Gaddafi could travel incognito by jeep, jet, helicopter or even camel to a region where he has support.

Explosions: Libyan rebels drive in a pick-up truck loaded with rocket launchers inside Gaddafi's Bab Al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli

Heated: Rebels dodge bullets as smoke rises around them during a gun fight inside Gaddafi's compound. Snipers are defending buildings there to prevent access to the tunnels

If Gaddafi has fled the capital, the dictator would find security in Sirte 280 miles away to the east. Sirte is Gaddafi's home town and tribes there are fiercely loyal to him.

He has secured backing in the region through patronage and he once wanted to make Sirte the capital of Africa. Some 200 scud missiles are also stored there, giving him a strong military presence.

Gaddafi could also have fled south across the Sahara desert towards his ancestral home of Sabha where the Gadadfa clan originate from. Supporters from Sabha's mountain towns and dunes would provide shelter.

From Sabha the dictator could flee to Algeria to the west, or Chad, Niger or Mali to the south where he has support.

Pictures of the tunnels came as it emerged that the SAS have joined rebels in the hunt to find Gaddafi.

The special forces are understood to be dressed in Arab clothing as they work with rebels to trace the runaway dictator.

Fighting continued today with more gun fights around Tripoli and heavy rocket fire in the south of the city, in the Abu Salim district.

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