Libya regime denies Gaddafi son's death

The Libyan regime has denied earlier reports that another one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons has been killed in a NATO airstrike in the country's west. A spokesman for the regime inTripoli said on Friday that reports of his death are a "dirty trick." The statement comes after the revolutionaries fighting troops loyal to Gaddafi reported that the ruler's youngest son Khamis had been killed in a NATO airstrike. The revolutionaries say the incident happened in the western town of Zlitan. Khamis is a top commander in his father's military. Meanwhile, Tripoli says that a NATO airstrike has killed two children aged three and five along with their mother in Zlitan. A statement released by the government says that a NATO airstrike reduced their house to rubble. Opposition sources say a total of 32 people were killed in the NATO airstrike on a government operations center in Ziltan. NATO has recently intensified its attacks on Libya in an alleged attempt to increase pressure on Gaddafi. Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between government troops and revolutionary forces since mid-February. The deadly conflict has left thousands of people dead and wounded. Revolutionary forces want an end to Gaddafi's decades-long rule.