London, July 29 (IANS) Libyan rebels assassinated their own military commander when it was found he was working as a Gaddafi double agent, a media report said.

Gen. Abdel Fattah Younes was shot dead after being arrested over suspicions that he and his family had links to the Gaddafi regime, The Sun reported.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chief of the rebel council, claimed Younes was killed by "assailants" after he was summoned before a judicial committee.

But a Gaddafi spokesman said Younes - who was being held at a military garrison in Benghazi - was assassinated by his own forces.

Jalil said Younes was killed alongside two of his aides - Col. Muhammad Khamis and Nasir al-Madhkur. He, however, denied reports they had been killed by the rebels themselves.

"I ask you to refrain from paying attention to rumours that Gaddafi's forces are trying to spread within our ranks," he said.

Younes was interior minister in the Gaddafi government before he defected. He was also part of the 1969 coup that brought Gaddafi to power.

Report said the rebels were "never comfortable" with an army leader who had been so close to Gaddafi.

Younes was also reportedly involved in a dispute over the leadership of the rebels.