By Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty on assignment in Tripoli, Libya
Where is Hanna Gadhafi, adopted daughter of Col. Moammar Gadhafi?
Did she really die 25 years ago? Or did a "second" adopted Hanna grow up to become a doctor? Could she, right now, be hiding out with her father as his regime crumbles around him?
The Libyan capital is filled with rumors. "They said she might be alive, or he sent her abroad," a young woman in Tripoli tells us, "or maybe she's here."
If that sounds confusing - it is.
The mystery of Hanna Gadhafi begins in 1986 in the rubble of Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, Bab al-Aziziya.
The massive headquarters had been hit by U.S. bombs on the order of President Ronald Reagan. Two of Gadhafi's sons were injured and, the Libyan leader claimed, his 1-year-old adopted daughter, Hanna, was killed.
After the raid a doctor said there was no question: Little Hanna was dead. She had severe fractures, she was in shock, he claimed, and she expired before a surgeon could reach her.
Gadhafi later said he adopted another little girl and also called her Hanna in honor of his daughter who had died. Over the years, as this "second" Hanna grew up, the colonel appeared in public with her. There are pictures on the Internet, including one of her at her sister Aisha's wedding. FULL POST
By CNN National Security Producer Jamie Crawford
While the United Nations says more than 2,500 people who have died in Syria at the hands of the regime, President Bashar al-Assad's point man in the United States says the figure is false, and the result of a conspiracy aimed at Damascus.
"These are blatant lies," Imad Mustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, told CNN's Hala Gorani in an exclusive interview Friday. "This is the problem we are facing today in Syria - a massive campaign of disinformation and lies."
Since the uprising against the Assad regime began in March, few Western media outlets have been granted permission to report from inside Syria. Those that receive visas find independent reporting difficult as they operate under tight restrictions and are allowed little freedom of movement.
FULL POST