WORLD BRIEFS

LIBYA: Anti-Gadhafi hero dies

One of the young rebels credited with capturing Moammar Gadhafi in a drainage ditch nearly a year ago died Tuesday after being kidnapped and beaten by the late dictator's supporters. The death of Omran Shaaban, who had been hospitalized in France, raised the prospect of even more violence and score-settling, with the newly elected National Congress authorizing police and the army to use force if necessary to apprehend those who abducted the 22-year-old and three companions in July near the town of Bani Walid.

SOMALIA: Bombs hit rebel-held city

The Kenyan military said Tuesday its jets bombed an airport in the last major city in Somalia held by extremist insurgents who are fighting African Union troops. The bombing of the port city of Kismayo was said to have destroyed a warehouse and armory belonging to the Islamist militant al-Shabab, which controls the city. Al-Shabab claimed on Twitter, however, that the bombs didn't cause any damage.

SYRIA: Mortars fired into Golan

Syrian soldiers fought rebels Tuesday in a firefight that killed nine people and sent several mortars sailing across the border into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military said nobody was hurt and that the spillover was believed to be accidental. But Israel filed a complaint to the UN peacekeeping force that patrols the region between Israel and Syria. Over the course of the 18-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad, violence has spilled into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. The spillover is among the most worrying developments in Syria, which has the potential to inflame the entire region.

BRITAIN: Queen gets an apology

The BBC apologized publicly to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday after a reporter disclosed a private conversation he had with her about a radical cleric who faces imminent extradition to the United States. Abu Hamza al-Masri lost an eight-year battle against the extradition. His alleged crimes include to establish a terrorist training camp in Bly, Ore., and masterminding a plot to kidnap Westerners in Yemen. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the queen had told him years ago she was upset that Masri apparently could not be arrested. An embarrassed BBC issued a "breaking news alert" stating that the conversation should have remained private.

MEXICO: 6.2 quake shakes Baja

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the southern part of the Baja California peninsula Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.