Dramatic Images of Rebels Looting Qaddafi Family Homes

The luxurious villas have rebels and residents aghast

When the Libyan rebels first stormed Muammar Qaddafi's Tripoli compound on Tuesday, the iconic images took place outside, as opposition fighters climbed atop Qaddafi's statue of a fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet and brandished the Libyan leader's weapons, hats, and golf cart. But new AP images are now surfacing from inside the luxurious homes of Qaddafi's children Saadi and Aisha. "After driving out the guards," the AP explains, "rebels trashed and looted the villas and neighbors wandered through the wreckage Wednesday expressing their anger at the Qaddafi family's wealth and ostentatious tastes."

In this photo, a rebel sits on a couch framed by a golden mermaid with the face of Aisha:

While others inspect Aisha's indoor swimming pool:

An aerial view of the stairwell and couch:

Rebels rifle through Aisha's belongings (they would later try on some of the clothes in the back). The AP writes that "the presence of small children was felt everywhere in the house. A large play room was strewn with toys, party hats and streamers were in a pile in an entrance hall, and [Aisha's] library contained a number of children's books."

The rebels also came across personal photos of Qaddafi's daughter:

A video posted to YouTube shows Aisha's bathroom (sauna, jacuzzi, and flatscreen TV) and bedroom, which includes a pool table:

A rebel righter sits at the parking lot near Saadi's house, which features a large painting of a yellow Lamborghini (the house is also shown in the lead picture). A rebel fighter who carried away a "large bottle of gin, a toothbrush with a gilded handle and a pair of Diesel jeans" from the house tells the AP that Saadi had four cars--a BMW, an Audi, a white Lamborghini and a Toyota--that were all driven off by rebels during the looting. On Thursday, Saadi told CNN that he was trying to broker a ceasefire between the rebels and Qaddafi loyalists.

Meanwhile, other fighters walked along what the AP calls a long underground "escape corridor" with thick concrete walls inside Saadi's home. "Al-Saadi must have been concerned about his safety," the AP writes. The home also features a soccer field (Saadi is a former professional soccer player and head of Libya's Football Federation) and a dog kennel.

In perhaps the oddest revelation from the looting, MSNBC notes that in Muammar Qaddafi's own compound, the rebels have discovered a photo album, below, filled with page after page of pictures of former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In a 2007 interview with Al-Jazeera television, Qaddafi said of Rice, "I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders ... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. ... I love her very much. I admire her and I'm proud of her because she's a black woman of African origin."