Confusion whether Gaddafi aide Moussa Ibrahim captured or not

A senior Libyan official has cast doubt on an earlier statement that Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman for late leader Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, had been captured.

Despite statements by the Libyan prime minister's office on Saturday that government forces had arrested Ibrahim south of Tripoli, the prime minister's spokesman Nasser al-Manaa later said there was no proof of the capture.

Other Libyan officials had also said they were sceptical, as such reports have proved false in the past.

"Moussa Ibrahim has been arrested by forces belonging to the Libyan government in the town of Tarhouna and he is being transferred to Tripoli to begin interrogation," a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Ali Zidan had originally said.

Tarhouna is located about 65km (40 miles) south-east of Tripoli on the way to Bani Walid - one of the last strongholds of pro-Gaddafi forces in the closing stages of last year's conflicts.

But the prime minister's office did not provide any photographic or video evidence of the reported capture.

Meanwhile, an internet audio recording featuring a man claiming to Ibrahim appeared on Facebook.

"We are outside of Libya," the man said. "We have no relations with Bani Walid and no contact with it. We are nowhere near Bani Walid."

During the war in Libya last year, Ibrahim held regular press conferences in Tripoli at the Rixos hotel, which was used by many international journalists.

He was last seen there shortly before the fall of Tripoli in August 2011.

The reported taking of Ibrahim comes on the first anniversary of Col Gaddafi's capture. The latter was seized and killed near his hometown of Sirte.

Interim leader Mohammed Magarief said that one year on, the country has not yet been fully liberated.

Militia groups which helped to defeat pro-Gaddafi forces remain powerful in many parts of the country. There have been clashes between militias in Bani Walid in recent days.