Muammar Gaddafi's presidential bolt-hole

A monument has been erected outside the building
bombed by the US in 1986

Bab al-Aziziya - Splendid Gate - the nerve-centre of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime has long been a symbol of the Libyan leader's defiance.

At the heart of the sprawling presidential compound in downtown Tripoli is the shell of his former residence, partially destroyed by American laser-guided "smart" bombs in 1986.

Col Gaddafi claimed that his adopted baby daughter Hanna had been killed in the attack, ordered by former US President Ronald Reagan. The Libyans had been accused of the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque in which two American GIs were killed.

The iconic building has become a symbol of
Libyan national defiance

The building has not been rebuilt and has been renamed House of Resistance. In front of it stands a giant, gold, clenched fist crushing an American plane.

In the past few months, the iconic building has formed the backdrop for Col Gaddafi's televised addresses, as it did in 2001 when the Libyan leader spoke out angrily against the Lockerbie verdict.

And it is here that this week ordinary Libyans rallied in support of Col Gaddafi, scaling the monument and straddling the plane in front of the cameras of the invited media.

About a quarter of a mile away, nestling among the trees, stands Col Gaddafi's Bedouin-style tent, one of his homes for the past four decades. It was here, in 2004, that the then German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder was entertained as he became the first German head of state to visit Libya.

Col Gaddafi doesn't stay long in one location and his current whereabouts is a mystery.

Last weekend, a three-story administration building about 50m (160ft) away from the tent was almost demolished in an air strike. Coalition officials insist their target was a command and control facility Col Gaddafi used to communicate with his troops.

It is reported that key military leaders and personnel are based in the compound. 

At the south-eastern side of the compound is a football pitch, probably used by the families that inhabit the rows of houses just inside the compound.  

"The streets with the low houses reminded me a bit of a refugee camp in Gaza," said one member of the team.

The houses are thought to be military accomodation. The team saw a small child peering out of one of them.

Beyond these houses is a lower wall and then an entrance into the compound's "inner sanctum". All visitors are security checked and have to pass through metal detectors.

A lot of soldiers inside the compound and some old, light anti-aircraft guns attached to the back of trucks.