Amid a military campaign against Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid, the deputy prime minister of Libya claimed in a tweet that Khamis Gaddafi was killed during fighting in the town on 20 October 2012, a year to the day Gaddafi's father Muammar was captured and killed by rebel forces in Sirte. A statement from the Libyan National Congress's spokesman, Omar Hamdan, claimed Gaddafi was killed "in battle", but gave no further details. His body was purportedly found after a day of heavy fighting between the town's pro-Gaddafi garrison and militias allied to the Libyan government.