Conflicting reports have emerged on the capture of Mutassim Gaddafi, one of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons, in the Libyan city of Sirte.

A National Transitional Council (NTC) official told the Reuters news agency that Mutassim is currently being held in Benghazi, the Council's eastern power base, after being arrested on Wednesday.

Colonel Abdullah Naker of the Tripoli Revolutionary Council was quoted as saying: "[Mutassim] was arrested today in Sirte."

Reacting to the reports of Mutassim's capture, Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the NTC in Benghazi, told the Associated Press news agency that he called commanders in Sirte and that "so far as we are concerned, there is no confirmation that Mutassim Gaddafi has been captured."

El-Gallal added that the NTC forces have captured some fighters close to one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons in the fugitive leader's home town.

Fighters in Sirte were celebrating the news of his arrest on Wednesday night, while citizens in the capital Tripoli took the streets to sound their car horns and fire guns into the sky.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Tripoli, said he had spoken with several high-level NTC officials who had heard the news but could not confirm it.

A spokesman for the military said he had not spoken with anyone who had seen Mutassim in custody.

The NTC claimed in August to have captured Gaddafi's highest-profile son, Saif al-Islam, during the final battle for the capital, but that claim turned out to be false, and Saif appeared in public hours later.

If Mutassim was captured, the NTC will be eager to question him regarding the whereabouts of his father and brothers, who are thought to have fled Tripoli as it fell into opposition hands in late August.

Mutassim served as his father's national security adviser while the regime was still in power, but was not seen as being as prominent as his brothers Saif, Saadi or Khamis.

Saif was considered Gaddafi's likely successor, Saadi was known for his failed Italian football career, and Khamis controlled the country's most powerful military unit, which was named after him.

All four, particularly Mutassim, Saif and Khamis, are loathed by many Libyans for the role they played in Gaddafi's authoritarian state and in the crackdown against the uprising.

Saif, Saadi and Khamis's whereabouts are unknown.

PHOTO CAPTION

Mutassim Gaddafi

Al Jazeera