"I can confirm that NATO is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC (National Transitional Council) to help them track down Colonel Qadhafi and other remnants of the regime," who fled before advancing rebel forces on Tuesday, he said.

The defence ministry said Fox was referring to "various assets such as military planes."

A ministry spokesman would not say whether SAS special forces members had been deployed in the search, as reported by the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper quoted defence ministry sources as saying SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and played a key role in coordinating the battle for Tripoli.

Camouflaged in civilian clothes and armed with the same types of weapons used by the rebel forces, the commando members have been tasked primarily with finding Qadhafi, the paper said.

"We can't comment on special forces at the moment," the ministry spokesman responded.

The rebels who overran the Libyan capital and captured Qadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound on Tuesday, have offered a $1.7 million reward for the capture of the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011