Where is Gaddafi? And what next after allies target his residence?

There was intense speculation on Monday about the whereabouts of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi after allied forces bombed his compound Sunday night, an action reminiscent of the 1986 attack by the U.S. on Gaddafi's compound in which his daughter was killed.

According to some reports his residence was destroyed, while some other reports said Gaddafi's military command center was reduced to rubble in heavy bombardment.

It is also not clear as to whether the allied attack is intended to get him. While the Pentagon said on Sunday the air strikes on Gaddafi's compound were not targeted at him, the British defense secretary said targeting Gaddafi was a possibility. Liam Fox said targeting Gaddafi is a possibility if it could be done safely, the Sun reported.

The Muslim Brotherhood had a news flash on its website on Monday, which said Gaddafi's residence has been destroyed in the allied air strike. According to the British tabloid, Gaddafi had around 300 people, including young children, in his compound at the time of the air attacks whom he possibly used as human shields. However, none of them were reported injured in the allied attack.

The Arab League fumed over the allied intervention though it had earlier called for enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. China too intensified its criticism of the allied action, which was sanctioned by the UN Security Council last week. The UN resolution doesn’t sanction an Iraq-style occupation of the country and hence the chances of a ground battle between the allied forces and the Gaddafi-supporting rump of the Libyan military are slim.

The allied forces have a three-fold objective: Destroy Gaddafi's ability to launch air attacks on the rebels, cripple his military firepower by targeting senior commanders and destroying all command and control networks, and take down the Libyan military supply chain and get senior army ranks to defect to the rebel side.