CAIRO, March 26 - RAPSI, Alexander Yelistratov. Egypt handed over to Libya two former top Ghaddafi-regime officials, local media reported Tuesday. 

Former Ambassador to Egypt Ali Maria and ex-Information Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Ghaddafi were delivered to their home country on a special plane.

The two were arrested last week alongside Ghaddafi's top aide and cousin Ahmed Ghaddafi al-Dam, who surrendered to police after an hours-long siege at his house in Cairo.

Al-Dam, the former coordinator between the Ghaddafi and the Egyptian leadership, has been accused of financial fraud and complicity in the ousted governments crimes.

Egyptian Prosecutor General Talaat Abdullah ordered to detain al-Dam for 30 days for investigation last week, while the other two suspects were handed over to Interpol.

A joint Libyan-Egyptian expert commission is presently investigating the legal grounds for the potential extradition of the late Ghaddafi's associates to Libya.
Hundreds of Ghaddafi supporters fled to Egypt after his regime collapsed.

Mass protests began in Libya in February 2011 and soon escalated into armed clashes.

The opposition National Transitional Council was declared the only legitimate power in the country. On March 17, 2011, the UN Security Council sanctioned military intervention in Libya to allegedly protect civilians from Ghaddafi's efforts to suppress the opposition. NATO led an air campaign against Ghaddafi, who had ruled the country for over 40 years. Ghaddafi was later captured and killed.

The NATO operation in Libya ended on Oct. 31, 2011.