U.S. Seeks 'Transparent Account' of Gadhafi's Death

The United States on Friday urged Libyan's interim leaders to provide "a transparent account" of the death of strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The National Transitional Council "has already been working to determine the precise cause and circumstances of Gadhafi’s death and we obviously urge them to do so in an open and transparent manner as we move forward," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

"We also continue to urge them, as we have been over the past months, to treat prisoners humanely," Toner added.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that Gadhafi’s death ended decades of "iron fist" rule in Libya and warned Arab tyrants that it showed their brutal regimes would inevitably fall.

"This is a momentous day in the history of Libya," said Obama, adding that "the dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted."

But Libya's leaders were under pressure Friday to proclaim the country's liberation and move toward democracy, amid euphoria over Gadhafi’s death despite still murky circumstances.

With suggestions, including from Russia, that the deposed dictator may have been summarily executed after his capture on Thursday, Moscow, the U.N. human rights chief and Amnesty International called for an investigation.

The National Transitional Council, Libya's new rulers, had been expected to issue a promised declaration that the country was finally freed following the death of Gadhafi, his son Mutassim and other top regime figures, and the fall of his hometown Sirte.

Such a declaration would be followed by the formation of an interim government to oversee drawing up a new constitution and holding free elections after four decades of dictatorship.

But with another Gadhafi son -- longtime heir-apparent Seif al-Islam -- still unaccounted for, NTC leaders waited, despite jubilation in towns across the country at the news that the once-all powerful tyrant was dead.