Tripoli Hospital Receives 17 Executed Bodies

TRIPOLI - A Tripoli hospital has received the bodies of 17 civilians believed to have been executed in recent days by government forces in Muammar Gaddafi's compound in the capital, a British medical worker said on Thursday.

"Yesterday a truck arrived at the hospital with 17 dead bodies," Kirsty Campbell of the International Medical Corps told Reuters.

"These guys were rounded up 10 days ago. They were found in Bab al-Aziziya when the guys (rebel fighters) went in. These guys were shot in an execution there," she said.

The wounds were not battlefield injuries, she said.

Rebel fighters overran the fortified Bab al-Aziziya complex, the centre of Gaddafi's power, on Tuesday.

She said there had been reports of more bodies, but added: "I myself counted 17 last night."

Campbell said family members had identified the victims.