3 Gadhafi children, wife flee to Algeria

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Moammar Gadhafi's wife and three of his children fled Libya to Algeria yesterday, firm evidence that the longtime leader has lost his grip on the country.

Gadhafi's whereabouts were still unknown and rebels are worried that if he remains in Libya, it will stoke more violence. In Washington, the Obama administration said it has no indication Gadhafi has left the country.

Rebels also said one of Gadhafi's other sons, elite military commander Khamis, was probably killed in battle.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry said Gadhafi's wife, Safia, his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, and his daughter Aisha entered the country. It said Algerian authorities have informed the UN secretary-general, the president of the UN Security Council, and the head of the Libyan rebels' transitional leadership council.

Ahmed Jibril, an aide to rebel National Transitional Council head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said officials would "demand that Algerian authorities hand them over to Libya to be tried before Libyan courts."

Gadhafi's children played important roles in Libya's military and economic life. Hannibal led the maritime transport company, Mohammed the national Olympic committee. Aisha, a lawyer, helped in the defense of Saddam Hussein in the trial that led to his hanging.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has asked the rebels to review the case of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.

Al-Megrahi is reportedly near death, and his family said yesterday that he is slipping in and out of consciousness.

Convicted of the bombing that killed 270 people, Al-Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison on humanitarian grounds after doctors predicted he would die of cancer in three months. That was in 2009.

A U.S. official said the Obama administration wants him expelled if he does not die during the review period. -- AP