Libyan man who discovered Gaddafi in drain dies from injuries

The Libyan man who purportedly discovered former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hiding in a drainage pipe in his hometown has died as a result of injuries suffered when Gaddafi's supporters kidnapped him two months ago.

Fears rose immediately that his death on Tuesday would fuel rising tensions between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces.

Omran Shaban, a member of the Misratan brigades, died in a Paris hospital allegedly as a result of a bullet wound and torture he received after his kidnapping in July by militia members from the city of Bani Walid. They apparently were angered by the role Shaban had played in Gaddafi's capture and subsequent death.

The city of Misrata led western Libya's rebellion against Gaddafi, who died last October after being pulled out of a drainage pipe in his hometown of Sirte. In a new museum for the revolution set up in Misrata, a video of Gaddafi pleading for his life that day plays on a continuous loop.

The nearby city of Bani Walid remains one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi supporters, and many of its residents remain loyal to the late dictator.

Since his regime collapsed, militias from Bani Walid and Misrata engaged in several standoffs involving the kidnapping of fighters as well as journalists.

Only last-minute intervention by government members and other negotiators prevented a final battle between the rebels and remnants of the regime.