President Obama declared that Moammar Khaddafy "is no more" in a dramatic Rose Garden announcement hours after the Libyan strongman was killed in his tribal hometown.
“This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny,” Obama said.
Fighters who captured and mortally wounded Khaddafy said the 69-year-old strongman was hiding in a drainage tunnel - ironic, given that he called the insurgents who toppled him "rats."
"He called us rats, but look where we found him," fighter Ahmed Al Sahati told Reuters, pointing to a drainage pipe.
NATO confirms they participated in the mission to topple Sirte -- one of Khaddafy's last remaining strongholds -- and hit a convoy of Khaddafy's loyalists as it was fleeing the city, The Associated Press reports.
