Moammer Qadhafi said Friday he is in a place where Nato bombs cannot reach him, after his government spokesman denied suggestions that the Libyan leader was wounded and on the run. "I want to say to the Crusader cowards that I live in a place where I cannot be reached or killed; I live in the hearts of millions," Qadhafi said in an audio message broadcast on state television.
He referred to an early-Thursday strike on his Bab al-Aziziya compound that "led to the martyrdom of three civilians, journalists," meaning the recording, the authenticity of which could not be verified, was made since then. And he thanked heads of state who had asked about his health after the Nato air strike.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini had said earlier that Kadhafi may be on the run and wounded. Frattini's remarks, based on a comments he said were made to him by Giovanni Martinelli, the Roman Catholic bishop of Tripoli, came as rebel leader Mahmud Jibril was headed for the White House to press for US recognition and aid.
Frattini had earlier told Corriere della Sera daily: "I am of the view that (Qadhafi) has probably fled from Tripoli but not from the country." But Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told journalists in the capital that "the leader is in very good health, high morale, high spirits," and "he is in Tripoli."