Gaddafi spy chief arrested at Nouakchott airport

Mauritanian authorities arrested Muammar Gadhafi's chief of intelligence and right-hand man Abdullah al-Senussi as he entered the country on a false passport, Mauritania's state news agency said on Saturday.

Senussi, who for decades before the late dictator's fall inspired fear and hatred in ordinary Libyans, is sought by the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. If confirmed, his arrest will put an end to months of uncertainty over his whereabouts.

Official Mauritanian agency AMI said Senussi was arrested late on Friday as he arrived at the airport in the West African state's capital Nouakchott on a regular flight from Casablanca in Morocco. It said he was bearing a falsified Malian passport.

Mauritania has not signed the Rome Statute governing the ICC and authorities were not immediately available to confirm the arrest.