[Video] Bab al-Aziziya compound falls but Gaddafi remains defiant

07:00 Gaddafi was still defiant as he said on a radio station that the retreat from the compound was a tactical move and that they would go on fighting.      

19:41 Earlier, a spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council said that Muammar Gaddafi is either in or near to Tripoli.

“We don't think that he has left the country. We believe he is still inside Libya. We believe that he is either in Tripoli or close to Tripoli," Guma el-Gamaty told BBC.

"Sooner or later, he will be found, either alive and arrested - and hopefully that is the best outcome we want - or if he resists he will be killed."

19:30 CNN is reporting that Tripoli residents are rushing into the compound – currently controlled by rebels - and are taking items from there.

Rebels are sitting on Gadhafi regime vehicles inside the compound and firing off a large amount of shots. There is also reportedly a large blast hole in the eastern gate.

There are also reports of sniper fire within the compound, and of pockets of pro-gaddafi resistance that are still present while rebels are still fighting for full control of the compound.

Reuters is reporting that hundreds of rebels have looted an armoury in part of the compound, “seizing new sniper rifles in plastic cases.”

19:07 CNN reports that gunfire can still be heard at the scene, while some rebels have been seen showing off items taken from the compound on TV.

One of these appeared to be a gold-plated AK-47, a trinket that Gaddafi is famous for having a penchant for.

Gaddafi's whereabouts are still unknown however.

Al Arabiya is also reporting that rebels are now conducting room-by-room searches in Gaddafi's residence.

18:40 The CNN is reporting that despite scouring the interior of the compound, neither Gaddafi ruler nor his family members have been located.

“[Rebels] have knocked down walls, they have knocked down buildings, buildings are on fire,” the CCN reports, adding that a building is smoking.

The CNN is also reporting that rebels are making off which as much weaponry and ammunition from within the compound as they can get their hands on.

"I see people running out of the buildings with tons of ammunition, I see tanks," the CNN correspondent said.

18:27 Al Arabiya reports that rebels they are now in control of about 70% of the compound. 

A historic building inside the compound has been burned and the fighting at the compound is over, the CNN is reporting.

Sky News also showed video they said was from inside the compound.

In the video, rebel forces surrounding the iconic sculpture of a raised fist crushing a U.S. plane in Gaddafi's compound.

Earlier, rebels were displaying files they say are from Moammar  Gaddafi's compound. The documents, files and receipts have the official regime stamp and Gaddafi's name on it, the CNN reported.

One of the documents is a medical file that has the name of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, Sidner reported.

17:50 Rebel sources say they entered Muammar Qaddafi's house and raised their flag, Al Arabiya is reporting.

Reports are also surfacing that the rebels have stormed Gaddafi's house at the compound, and raised the Independent Flag over it.

17:41 It is confirmed that rebels are were seen celebrating outside the compound, Reuters reporters on scene are reporting. The reporters also confirmed that the resistance that pro-Gaddafi forces tried to put up petered into nothing.

Gaddafi's whereabouts are still currently unknown however.

The Pentagon noted that Libyan opposition forces appeared to be in control of most of Tripoli, and reiterated that currently-missing Muammar Gaddafi had not left the country, according to Reuters.

Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Dave Lapan added that although the command capabilities of Gaddafi's forces had been diminished, they remained dangerous.

He also said the United States was monitoring Libya's chemical weapons sites, amid concern in Congress that those weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

17:27 Reports are surfacing that resistance within the compound has ceased and that rebel fighters who entered the compound are celebrating. Rebels were seen firing in the air in celebration, reporters on the scene said.

Pro-Gaddafi forces initially tried to defend the compound but their resistance later ended, according to reporters.

17:32 It is confirmed that rebels have entered the compound at least through one gate. NATO forces have said they used air strikes to knock out a wall of the compound.

16:54 Rebels reportedly entered Gaddafi's fortified compound Bab al-Azizya in Tripoli, amid intensified fighting with regime forces. According to reports that could not be independently verified, rebels have entered the compound, reports say.

Street battles between pro-Gaddafi troops and rebels were reported in several parts of the city, and the mood turned from one of euphoria to confusion and fear a day after opposition fighters swept into the capital with relative ease, claiming to have most of it under their control, the Associated Press reported.

Some of the heaviest fighting was around Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya main compound and military barracks, AP reported, with both sides battling it out with heavy machine-guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns.

Thick clouds of gray and white smoke filled the Tripoli sky as the heavy gunfire and explosions shook several districts of the city of two million people.

The compound, which has been heavily damaged by NATO airstrikes, has emerged as one of the centers of government resistance since tanks rolled out Monday and began firing at rebels trying to get in.

The compound is regarded as the toughest nut that the rebels will have to crack in their Tripoli takeover, and it is not expected to fall easily.

It is roughly 10 km squared and has three tiered areas that invaders must breach through in order to access the compound's core.

Opposition forces assaulted the compound armed largely with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers in a bid to weaken the complex's outer wall, which is the size of several football pitches.