or Saudi Arabia. Saif al-Islam said that his father was working closely with Islamists within the rebellion to splinter the resistance. On 21 August, the National Transitional Council claimed that Saif al-Islam was arrested by the National Liberation Army, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. However, on the early morning of 23 August, Saif al-Islam was sighted by Western journalists apparently moving around under his own free will outside the Rixos Hotel. He was later interviewed by Matthew Chance of CNN, where he claimed his father was also still in Tripoli and report of his arrest was a "trick" by rebels. After the fall of Tripoli, Saif al-Islam went to Bani Walid. His brother, Al-Saadi, contacted CNN, stating that he had the authority to negotiate on behalf of loyalist forces, and wished to discuss a ceasefire. On 5 September, Al-Saadi said in an interview with CNN that an "aggressive" speech by his brother Saif al-Islam had led to the breakdown of the negotiations between NTC forces and Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid. Shortly after Saadi fled to Niger on 11 September, another brother, Mutassim, crossed paths with Saif in Bani Walid for the last time. Their last encounter was acrimonious as Mutassim allegedly blamed Saif's yesteryear reforms for causing their family's downfall. On 20 September, Arrai TV broadcast footage of Saif rallying his father's supporters, promising them weapons, and appealing to them to retake Tripoli. Saif al-Islam stayed in Bani Walid until the town was captured by NTC forces in early October. On 17 October, after leaving Bani Walid, his convoy was hit by a NATO air attack at Wadi Zamzam where he lost 26 of his supporters and 9 military vehicles. His right hand was wounded and according to his own explanation it happened during the NATO air strike. According to the Libyan Al Mashhad Al Leebi program, the fingers of his right hand were cut off. He was operated on by Andrei Murakhovsky, an Ukrainian doctor working in Zintan, who disputed the rumor that Saif's fingers had been cut off and claimed that his injuries were consistent with "some kind of explosion." Dr. Murakhovsky claimed that his fingers were gangrenous and thus needed to be amputated to prevent osteomyolitis. Capture With the death of his father Muammar and his brother Mutassim in Sirte on 20 October 2011, Saif al-Islam was the only member