- Troops are carrying same AK47s and Kalashnikovs as the rebels
- Searching compound for entrance to underground tunnels
- MI6 'eavesdropping' calls and using contacts on ground
- Dictator may use chemical weapons in a 'last hurrah'
- Selling country's gold to raise war chest in fightback
- Rebel council leader to meet Silvio Berlusconi today
- Fighting continues in Abu Salem district of Tripoli
- Death toll in Tripoli since Sunday has passed 450
The crack squad of elite soldiers are dressed in Arab clothes and carrying the same AK47s and Kalashnikovs that the rebels have used in the conflict.
The SAS will be searching Gaddafi's wrecked apartments and trying to gain entrance to the network of underground tunnels where he is believed to be hiding.
Soldier from 22 SAS Regiment were first sent into the north African country several weeks ago by David Cameron and they have remained there to find Gaddafi, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Nato has carried out a string of airstrikes on key targets in Libya since the conflict began on February 17 but up until now the use of ground troops has been ruled out.
The strangest kickabout: As a massive tent blazes inside Gaddafi's compound, a smiling rebel strolls along with a looted football
Conqueror: A Libyan rebel fighter stands in the destroyed building of Moammar Gadhafi's compound
Hatred: A rebel steps on a poster of Gaddafi at Rixos hotel, after loyalist gunmen released members of the foreign press
WHERE COULD GADDAFI BE HIDING?
The latest that Gaddafi could have been at his compound in Tripoli was on Sunday evening.
He may be staying at a safehouse in Tripoli, but if he 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.
Gaddafi, his family, aides and generals could also be living in an underground bunker filled with supplies and military controls.
There are still questions as to how Gaddafi could have fled his compound. The dictator claimed in a broadcast on Monday evening that he had 'discreetly toured' Tripoli earlier in the day.
Gaddafi's former aide has said that he used a disguise as a woman do this, but with an entourage of guards at his side, the hunted leader will have been unable to pass rebel checkpoints on the roads out of Tripoli.
Gaddafi's escape from his compound is more likely to have been through a network of tunnels 2,000 miles long that were built in the 1980s. Heavily-fortified entrances to the nuclear-proof vaults are concealed and along the route there are further barriers and booby traps.
One of the tunnels surfaces at the Rixos Hotel a mile away. Gaddafi mysteriously appeared there on a number of occasions during fighting and his son, Saif al-Islam, made an unexpected appearance at the hotel on Sunday evening.
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 com up directly at Sirte or Sabha. Alternatively they may surface in the desert, from where Gaddai could travel incognito by jeep, jet, helicopter or even camel to a region where he has support.
He may be staying at a safehouse in Tripoli, but if he 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.
Gaddafi, his family, aides and generals could also be living in an underground bunker filled with supplies and military controls.
There are still questions as to how Gaddafi could have fled his compound. The dictator claimed in a broadcast on Monday evening that he had 'discreetly toured' Tripoli earlier in the day.
Gaddafi's former aide has said that he used a disguise as a woman do this, but with an entourage of guards at his side, the hunted leader will have been unable to pass rebel checkpoints on the roads out of Tripoli.
Gaddafi's escape from his compound is more likely to have been through a network of tunnels 2,000 miles long that were built in the 1980s. Heavily-fortified entrances to the nuclear-proof vaults are concealed and along the route there are further barriers and booby traps.
One of the tunnels surfaces at the Rixos Hotel a mile away. Gaddafi mysteriously appeared there on a number of occasions during fighting and his son, Saif al-Islam, made an unexpected appearance at the hotel on Sunday evening.
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 com up directly at Sirte or Sabha. Alternatively they may surface in the desert, from where Gaddai could travel incognito by jeep, jet, helicopter or even camel to a region where he has support.
'I can confirm that Nato is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC (National Transitional Council) to help them track down Col Gaddafi and other remnants of the regime,' the Defence Secretary said today.
'There are areas of resistance by the regime which has had considerable levels of military expertise, still has stockpiles of weapons and still has the ability for command and control.
'They may take some time to completely eliminate and it is likely there will be some frustrating days ahead before the Libyan people are completely free of the Gaddafi legacy.'
The military leaders are believed to be trying to find the blueprints for the underground tunnels that Gaddafi used to escape from his Tripoli mansion.
One suggestion is that Nato are searching for the architect who designed the Rixos Hotel which is connected by a secret vault to Gaddafi's compound a couple of miles away.
Dr Fox refused to comment on a report that the SAS is leading the hunt for the dictator and his sons.
Reports that Britain's special forces have entered Libya comes as the hunt for the dictator intensified with a £1m reward being offered yesterday for anybody who catches him.
Fighting continued around Tripoli today with rockets fired in the Abu Salem district of Tripoli.
With still no sign of where the ousted tyrant is hiding, an unnamed businessman posted the reward to anyone handing him over ‘dead or alive’.
It was supported by rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), in a clear indication that the insurgents have no idea where the 69-year-old dictator is.
Meanwhile, Libya's former central bank governor Farhat Bengdara said that Gaddafi will try to sell part of the country's gold reserves to pay for his protection and sow chaos among tribes in the north African country.
Bengdara, who has allied himself with the Libyan rebels saidthat an ally of Gaddafi had offered 25 tonnes of gold to his friend 'a little time ago'.
'My friend referred it to me and I suggested that he refuse and my friend immediately rejected the approach. But it is a clear indication(of Gaddafi's intentions),' Bengdara told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
There are gold reserves worth $10 billion in Tripoli and Gaddafi could have taken some of that amount, he said. Bengdara said he believed that Gaddafi had fled Tripoli and could be heading towards the Algerian border.
'Now he is looking to pay and corrupt some tribes and some militia to have protection and to create further chaos,' he said.
Another senior figure in the rebel council, Mahmoud Jibril, will travel to Italy today for a meeting with Silvio Berlusconi on a European diplomatic tour aimed at security the release of billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets.
Jibril meets Berlusconi in Milan a day after laying out plans for governing Libya after the fall of Gaddafi's 42-year autocratic regime.
Italy is Libya's largest economic partner, with trade worth (euro) 11 billion ($16 billion) in 2010, before civil war halted business in February.
Italy's Eni has dispatched technicians to Benghazi to prepare to restart oil and natural gas production. Eni says it can take up to a year for oil production to begin.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has also called a conference in Paris next Thursday to discuss plans to rebuild Libya.
The 'friends of Libya' meeting will include representatives from the nations which took part in the offensive against Gaddafi’s regime, as well as China, Russia, India and Brazil.
In a statement, Downing Street said the conference was a joint Franco-British initiative.
A No 10 spokesman said: 'We have stood firmly by the Libyan people since their uprisings began six months ago and we will continue to lead international efforts to help them achieve their aspirations in the weeks and months ahead.'
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