Libyan Rebels Put $1.7 Million Bounty on Qaddafi's Head

Officials think he's still in Tripoli but may try to escape

Libyan rebels are offering a bounty of 2 million Libyan dinars -- about $1.7 million -- to the person who brings them Muammar Qaddafi, dead or alive, the Christian Science Monitor's Kristen Chick reports. White House officials tell the Associated Press they have no evidence Qaddafi's left Libya, and the dictator-in-hiding promises that he'll fight "until victory or martyrdom." Abdel Salam Jalloud, a Qaddafi ally until last week, told Al Jazeera that he thinks Qaddafi is still in Tripoli and might try to evade capture by dressing in women's clothes on the way to Algeria or Chad.

Chick reports that National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil announced that whoever produces Qaddafi "will be pardoned for any past crimes, in an attempt to entice one of his inner circle to give him up." The bounty money was offered by a businessman, Abdel Jalil said. And if Qaddafi gives himself up willingly, the NTC will allow him to flee to another country -- even one that's not a member of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant against him for crimes against humanity.

Above, a Libyan rebel fighter flashes a victory sign at Bab al-Azizia, which had been Qaddafi's main base.