Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril has officially confirmed that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in Sirte today.

He died as  forces of the National Transitional Council launched a final assault on the last pocket of resistance in his hometown.

His death was earlier announced by NTC official Abdel Hafez Ghoga.

"We announce to the world that Gaddafi has died in the custody of the revolution," he said.

"It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Gaddafi has met his fate," he added.

He said that the fugitive former despot's death had been "confirmed by our commanders on the ground in Sirte, those who captured him after he had been wounded in the battle for Sirte."

A video circulating among NTC fighters in Sirte showed mobile phone footage of what appeared to be Gaddafi's bloodied corpse.

In the grainy images seen by an AFP correspondent, a large number of NTC fighters are seen yelling in chaotic scenes around a khaki-clad body which has blood oozing from the face and neck.

The body is then dragged off by the fighters and loaded in the back of a pick-up truck.

A still photograph taken on a mobile phone and obtained by AFP showed Gaddafi heavily bloodied but it was not clear from the picture whether he was alive or dead at the time.

In the grainy image, Gaddafi is seen with blood-soaked clothing and blood daubed across his face.