Gaddafi could be looking at exit options: Clinton

"It's my personal opinion -- some of it is theatre, some of it is kind of, shall we say, game playing, to try to do one message to one group, another message to somebody else," Clinton told the ABC news in an interview.

"Because as you recall, after the United Nations Security Council acted, Gaddafi said, 'Well, we're going to do a ceasefire,' and then immediately urged his forces to move even more quickly towards Benghazi," she said.

 "So a lot of it is just the way he behaves. It's somewhat unpredictable. But some of it, we think, is exploring -- what are my options, where could I go, what could I do. We would encourage that," Clinton said in response to a question.

"I'm not aware that he personally has reached out, but I do know that people allegedly on his behalf have been reaching out. So that's why I say this is a very dynamic situation, and I often wonder how, in the past, anybody could engage in these kinds of actions and then have to basically answer every tweet or every posting from anyone, because these are fast-moving, evolving situations," she said.

"We are sending a clear message by our actions in the international community that we would like to see Gaddafi leave power and transition to a different future for the Libyan people," Clinton said.

Noting that the UN Security Council resolution was very broad but explicit about what was legally authorised by the international community, Clinton said that US is hundred per cent committed to enforcing it and helping others enforce it. "There is nothing in there about getting rid of anybody. It is about protecting civilians, providing humanitarian assistance, but also enabling nations to use whatever means necessary in order to bring that about," she said, adding that there are many aspects to what the international community is doing to put a lot of pressure on Gaddafi and those around him.

"If we want to see a stable, peaceful, hopefully someday democratic Libya, it is highly unlikely that can be accomplished if he stays in power as he is," she said.

Clinton said US is trying to create the opportunity for there to be a more level playing field. "If there is a true opposition in Libya that is trying to assert itself, we're going to give them a much better chance than they had before the Security Council acted," she said.

Clinton further said that she is aware of reports that one of the Gaddafi's son has been killed, but she could not confirm it due to lack of sufficient evidence in this regard. "Well, I can't confirm it, but we've heard it, and we've heard a lot," Clinton told the ABC news in an interview when asked about such news reports.

"Well, we hear it from many different sources. I can't give any confirmation because the evidence is not sufficient," she said.

 "But we've heard that, we've heard about other people close to him reaching out to people that they know around the world -- Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, beyond saying, "What do we do?  How do we get out of this?  What happens next," Clinton said.

According to news reports, Gaddafi's son Khamis, 27, who runs the feared Khamis Brigade that has been prominent in its role of attacking rebel-held areas, is believed to have died following the suicide air mission on his barracks.

The Libyan regime has denied such news reports.