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COLONEL Gaddafi's brigade commander son has been killed by a kamikaze Libyan air force pilot, it was claimed last night.



Khamis, 32, was said to have been blown up when the rebel airman crashed his jet into a military compound in Tripoli.



The tyrant who is in hiding in a desert bunker was devastated by the attack on his son, who ran the feared Khamis brigade of elite troops.



In sick revenge for the Allies' attacks on Sunday, Gaddafi yesterday ordered his henchmen to round up innocent women and children as human shields.



Several hundred civilians were being taken to key locations in the capital Tripoli and nearby Misrata to prevent further attacks on his compound.



One resident said: "They are taking people hostage so the resistance cannot engage them.



"They don't care who they round up but they know once the intelligence services learn there are women and children involved, then they are safe from attack."



Sources claimed Gaddafi's sixth son died at a hospital in Tripoli from burn wounds, but the regime quickly denied the reports.



The tyrant's sons in Tripoli include Saif al-Islam, 38, who claims to be the leader of the modernising wing in the family and regularly appears on TV.



Saif has travelled widely and wrote his PhD thesis at the London School of Economics on the role of civil society in democratisation.



Saadi Gaddafi, 37, was once a professional footballer in Malta and Italy, but he re-emerged as head of the Libyan special forces.



Mutassim, 33, is Gaddafis fourth son but possibly the most powerful, holding the position of national security adviser.



Security experts believe the biggest threat to Gaddafi could come from those closest to him.



MI6 agents on the ground will be actively tapping up Gaddafi's aides, hoping for a tip-off to his location or future movements.



