adrienne mong is in misrata again tonight. adrienne? [ singing ] >> reporter: good evening, kate. as you can see and most definitely hear behind me, people here on freedom square in misrata celebrating day one of a post gadhafi libya. it was another day of remarkable scenes here with the libyan people viewing the body of the former dictator. hundreds of libyans, mostly men rushed to a former shopping mall to view the corpse of the man they had feared for decades. why did you come here? >> to see this man. very bad man. >> reporter: rebel forces laid his badly wounded body on the floor of a commercial freezer. as we saw firsthand they kept the crowd moving. questions remain about exactly how he died shortly after he was captured, wounded but alive. today the interim government's prime minister came to misrata to see the body for himself and declared that an autopsy had been completed. and officials now say gadhafi's burial, originally planned for today in keeping with islamic custom, would be delayed. nato launched the air strike to stop the convoy in its tracks yesterday and said

nbc news correspondent adrienne mong is the only network correspondent on the ground in libya tonight. what's it like there tonight, adrienne? >> reporter: brian, gadhafi's body was brought here to misrata. he'll be buried tomorrow according to islamic law in likely an unmarked grave. his death was announced by a smiling flag-draped anchor. in misrata tonight an autopsy was performed and rebels posed with the body, taking pictures on their cell phones. meanwhile on the streets of misrata, crowds celebrated by dancing, honking horns, firing guns into the air. as to questions about who killed gadhafi or exactly how he died, one person we spoke to laughed and said, "god killed him." this saturday, the interim government will formally announce the liberation of libya. as one member told us, we are now back in the civilized world. brian? >> adrienne mong, thanks. >>> president obama went before cameras in the rose garden at 2:00 p.m. and pronounced gadhafi's death the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of libya. >> there will be difficult days ahead. but the united states tog

nbc's adrienne mong is in kabul tonight. >> reporter: it's considered one of the biggest threats to u.s. forces in afghanistan. and today it may have suffered a major blow. the haqqani network, a crime family that operates on the border of afghanistan and pakistan with ties to al qaeda and the taliban. known for brazen attacks like the 20-hour siege of the u.s. embassy and nato headquarters in kabul last month. today, nato forces said they captured hajik kahn. in a joint operation with the afghan military in southeast afghanistan. nato called kahn one of the highest-ranking members of the network and a revered elder. in addition to managing haqqani bases and operations in both afghanistan and pakistan, kahn was said to be responsible for managing finances and sourcing supplies for the network. for their part, the taliban denied that kahn had been captured, although afghan police and defense officials insisted it was true, saying his arrest will disrupt the haqqani network. senior u.s. officials have accused pakistan's government of having ties with the haqqanis. >> they are making a ser

adrienne mong is joining us by phone from misrata, libya, with the latest. mages you're about to see are graphic. adrienne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. that's right, they are graphic images, and gadhafi's body is still, we believe, here in misrata. we're still waiting to find out details of his burial. understandable that the interim government here as well as some of the rebel forces want to keep it as quiet as possible, the procedure for his burial here. we have been told that it will happen today without any sort of ceremony. in the meantime, there has been a lot of reflection this morning. we had a friday prayer here in misrata where they thanked allah for helping them secure victory over gadhafi. we also spoke to some of the people here who have started to say they thought his body would be somewhere in hawaii. >> thank you, adrienne mong. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton struck a hard line with pakistani leaders this morning in islamabad and the safe havens of terrorism that have cropped up within their borders. clinton calle

adrienne mong in sirte. thanks so much. >>> soining me is the director of the fairs center of eastern mediterranean study at the fletcher school of law and diplomacy. okay. six months in the making. he's been out of power for weeks, but still this is a psychological impact opt arab spring going forward is it not? >> caller: yes. but it also took a very long time to remove him from power at a very great cause and it remains to be seen whether this will actually make any difference to the security in libya. but having said that, the fact that he could not run away from the people tor community is another powerful message to other dictators. >> >> you say it took a very long time. i could make an argument that history will say six months is not a long time. >> well, if you look at the military operation by the international community in a country of three or four million people this was not an easy removal of a dictator from power. this took far longer than removing sadaam from power. therefore it is notes a re

for the latest, let's go to adrienne mong in misrata where the body has reportedly been taken.ve seen pictures of elated crowds all day, but i assume there is not just joy, but relief that this horrendous dictator has gone. >> reporter: good afternoon. you are absolutely right. there is joy and relief. joy we can hear with celebratory gunfire and fireworks as well. actual fireworks. lots of vehicles honking in the background and people out on the street below us. we can hear children cheering god is great. there is also relief. he said they can now start getting the real work done. they are planning to announce officially the liberation of libya on saturday. in the meantime, they have said they will go ahead with the burial of gadhafi's body. according to islamic law, it has to happen within 24 hours. [inaudible] . the transitional government will make that decision. when we asked would it simply be a burr willial, he said -- [inaudible] >> adrienne mong, i'm sorry, our signal is not great. thank you very much for joining us. moammar gadhafi's death is a significant win in pres

. >>> it is a thursday, adrienne mong just arriving in miss ral at a via car. e to get contact with her again. adrienne you were discussing you were on a rooftop and hearing gunfire. >> yes, we were hearing gunfire, celebratory gunfire as well as a lot of cars honking and prayers just took place for the end of the day, the sun is setting and a remarkable sight as we were driving back into the city. huge numbers of women and children, a sight i haven't seen yet in libya, certainly not recently out on the streets just cheering in great evidence jubilation. >> as you are watching this jubilation, is there wide concern about safety? is this a very quiet -- i shouldn't say quiet, a safe celebration? >> yes, it seems very much to be a safe celebration. i have to add, in the time that we've been here, myself and my colleagues and many previous colleagues and previous assignments, there's never been a question of personal safety. the rebel forces have always extended great courtesy to journalists here. clearly they understand that they need their story to be kept report

now to adrienne mong live in misrat misrata. tell us what you're seeing on the ground and in your travels today. >> reporter: well, we were actually on the road to sirte when we had to turn around when we heard reports that gadhafi had been captured and killed. basically the only thing we could be certain about since we were unable to independently verify these reports was the sense of jubilation everywhere on the road, from sirte to misrata. many, many rebel forces cheering, shooting guns, you can hear it now in the background here in misrata, lots of cars honking, a sense of overwhelming relief and it seems like this chapter of his history has come to a close. >> as you can see adrienne mong, on those travels, the jubilation of people in the streets but also a lot of murky circumstances under exactly how moammar gadhafi was killed. richard engel joins us frs new york. you spent so much time on the ground throughout the fighting and afterwards. what's your assessment on what we've seen on these graphic and disturbing pictures?

we have nbc's adrienne mong on the phone from gadhafi's hometown of sirte in libya. what's the latest there, adrienne? >> reporter: good morning. we're outside sirte, making our way back to misrata, the rebel stronghold, rebel dominated city. still no complete confirmation apart from the prime minister's announcement that they have caught and killed gadhafi. we've been talking to a number of militia men who have been making their way also from sirte to misrata, many of whom seem to have souvenirs already. there's a group right now just standing near us who claim to have a ring and a hat that belong to gadhafi. earlier, we saw a vehicle that reportedly carried the body of the united states who was wup of gadhafi's senior commanders. and there was also an ambulance that drove by and reportedly had the body of moammar gadhafi's son. so there is definitely a lot of evidence here on the ground to support the announcement, of course. and a sense of overwhelming jubilation. that is one thing we've been able to report with certainty is this feeling that they've now arrived at

. >> nbc's adrienne mong. thanks so much. the big question now, a price tag for taking out one of the world's most revealed dictators would cost according to a new report. the operation that led to the death of libyan leader moammar gadhafi cost the u.s. taxpayers $1 billion. meantime we're waiting on word i'm joined now by the washington bureau chief. it's nice to see you this morning as we all are watching this unfold. libya is currently a country without a leader, and as nato continues to honor the pledge to protect the people of libya, who is likely to emerge as the leader as this country transitions to democracy? >> well, the big challenge right now is to go through a peaceful transition, to demill tarrize the groups. this is not going to be an easy task. we have an interim government, collection of leaders who used to be part of the old regime, and some of the members of the opposition who are in exile. you have a prime minister who's respected. most of these people are nationalists. they'll be more assertive islamist g

let me go back to libya where adrienne mong is in misrata.dhafi's is at this moment? >> that's right. we are hearing reports that someone has seen the body here in miss rat a. we are trying to confirm this and chasing every lead we have. it is symptomatic at the day and chaos and confusion. sketchy information from everywhere. we basically heard nothing but word of mouth and rumor. in general, we can say that the mood here is celebratory. there is a constant stream of gunfire and lots of fireworks as well and actual fireworks. lots of people on the streets, much busier at night than we have seen before. >> again, right now on the ground, we hear a little bit of what's happening behind you earlier in the live shot at the top of the hour as well. what's the scene like on the ground. it's dark behind you. >> reporter: it's a scene of jubilation. lots of people shouting and typically they are saying god is great. we hear a lot of gunfire. guns fired into the air which is an expression of celebration in this part of the world. we heard children. w

nbc's adrienne mong joins us by phone from misrata, libya, with the latest. orning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. yes, that's right, there is some concern about just how gadhafi died, whether he was executed as we believe, as we've been told by some senior government officials, or if he died from gunshot wounds inflicted on him when he was caught in some cross fire between his men and rebel forces. we do know for sure his body is in misrata. we spoke to a senior member of the interim government who says for sure, he will be buried today, but they have, of course, it's understandable, they don't want to disclose the details, and they said that definitively, there will be no service for gadhafi. in the meantime, the friday prayer, which has been taking place across the country today, have had special meaning. we just watch eed them speak before worshippers here where he thanked allah for the defeat over gadhafi, but he reminded worshippers that despite what gadhafi said in the past about being king, only allah is king. >> adrienne, thank you. >>> there is

. >> adrienne mong, thank you very much. want to bring our panel, former assistant secretary of state under president clinton. jamie ruben, nbc news military analyst. and retired four-star general barry mccaffrey. obviously, part of the problem for the u.s. and the white house is in the past reports of gadhafi's death have proved to be exaggerated, shall we say. aiman, obviously, you spent a lot of time in that region. what are we hearing about what happened in libya? >> we are getting reports from sources in sirte and in tripoli that moammar gadhafi has been killed. the details of how he was killed remain conflicting. there's reports there was a convoy trying to leave sirte. there are also reports he was captured first on the ground in some kind of underground tunnel and then killed at the hands of the rebels that did capture him. we have reports that his son, one of the leaders of the paramilitary forces in libya was also captured. he'll be able to shed light on the final days and hours and indeed what happened. >> jamie,

up first, however, nbc news foreign correspondent, eamonn and live from misrata, nbc's adrienne mong. it's 10:00 p.m., describe, if you would, the tone, temperature, and feel of where you are and what you've experienced today. >> reporter: well, it's been one hell of a day. we just haven't been able to keep up with all the rumors and reports. what started out as a day, a morning of chaos and confusing, conflicting reports is now ending in a long night, i think, here in misrata of celebrations. we've been hearing constant gunfire, lots of tires burning rubber on the streets, lots of vehicles on the street, and a lot of people basically in jubilation at the news that gadhafi has been killed. we're expecting to see this happen all night. there have been fireworks and lots of celebratory gunfire. and i think a lot of relief. we spoke to a member of the transitional government who has confirmed that gadhafi's body is still in a hospital here in misrata, and that a group of medical experts, both libyan and also a third party outside of libya, is how he described it, has inspected the body h

adrienne mong is joining us by phone from misrata, libya, with the latest.le, the procedure for his burial here. we have been told that it will happen today without any sort of ceremony. in the meantime, there has been a lot of reflection this morning. we had a friday prayer here in misrata where they thanked allah for helping them secure victory over gadhafi. we also spoke to some of the people here who have started to say they thought his body would be somewhere in hawaii. >> thank you, adrienne mong. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton struck a hard line with pakistani leaders this morning in islamabad and the safe havens of terrorism that have cropped up within their borders. clinton called for pakistan to have greater cooperation with afghanistan and cautioned that militants have been allowed to operate in pakistan for too long. >>> the senate has rejected president obama's jobs bill aimed at preventing layoffs of teachers and firefighters by local and state governments. this latest legislation was a slimmed-down remnant of the president's larger $45

all right, adrienne mong, thanks for that. >>> nbc news has learned bachmann's entire new hampshire staffy of conflicting reports with bachmann previously denying reports of those departures. nbc's campaign embed and following this closely. the story here is that we have this confirmed now, yesterday her campaign was saying, no, this is not true. why would they say that? were they unaware of what was happening? >> yeah. interesting view into the life of a campaign. they, in fact, said two things. they said, this is not true. the congresswoman called into popular iowa radio station and said, these reports are not true. she raised the possibility that they, in fact, were floated or they -- or possibly floated by another candidate or another campaign. later in the day, the campaign manager released a statement saying, we haven't heard from them. that's the key thing. got an e-mail this morning from the campaign spokeswoman saying to date, as of now, i haven't heard from them. and we confirmed they left. they left and they never told the campaign. >> yikes. what kind of a position does this l

. >> adrienne mong reporting for us. >>> in other news this morning, officials in zanesville, ohio say night have now been accounted for. deputies were forced to shoot 50 animals including lions, bears, and rare bengal tigers released by their owner before he apparently committed suicide. drivers began calling police after spotting the animals along interstate 70 east of columbus. the sheriff's deputies said the owner of the pets seems to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and had a bite to the head. >>> now for a look at what is trending, our quick-roundup of what has you talking online. tmz reports the kardashian girls were taken by surprise when they heard that president obama doesn't like his daughters heard that president obama doesn't like his daughters watching "keeping up with the kardashians." first lady michelle obama spilled the beans in an interview. khloe kardashian says the president told her it was a great show when she met him at a white house event last year. >>> call it a stroke of sheen-ius. charlie sheen took to twitter to reveal he'll be dressing up of c