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Susan Cohen, Mother Of Woman Killed In Lockerbie Bombing, Elated Rebels In Libya Are Pushing For Moammar Gadhafi's Ouster

NEW YORK (WCBS 880 / AP) - NATO says it'll continue combat air patrols over Libya until all of Moammar Gadhafi's forces surrender, and this is brining great joy to one mother in New Jersey.

WCBS 880's Peter Haskell On The Story

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Gadhafi is alleged to have been behind the bombing of PanAm flight 103 back in 1988.

The 747 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground.

Among those on board was 20-year-old Theodora Cohen.

For her mother, Susan Cohen of Cape May Courthouse, N.J., this is a day she has long been waiting for.

"This is wonderful! I feel for the first time that the Libyan people have brought me justice," she told WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell. "For me, it is wonderful. This hideous monster and tyrant is finally being brought down."

Her daughter Theodora was a Syracuse University student when her plane exploded and Susan believes that Gadhafi was responsible and still wants more answers, and she wants Ghadafi to get what he deserves.

"Personally, I hope they kill him. But if he's taken to the court, he's taken to the court," she said. "I'll tell you, in my view, justice would be a bullet through his brain."

Theodora was one of 35 Syracuse students on the flight, one of 38 New Jerseyans on board, and one of 189 Americans.

"Nothing can take away the grief and the loss. My daughter's birthday is September 10. She would be, God help me, 43 if she were here," she said.

The Libyan rebels' top diplomat in London says clashes are continuing in Tripoli, but that opposition forces control 95 percent of the city. He says rebels have not yet found Gadhafi, but he says "the fighters will turn over every stone to find him, to arrest him, and to put him in the court.''

Tanks from pro-Gadhafi forces opened fire at rebels trying to storm Gadhafi's main compound in Tripoli Monday, a day after rebels took control of Libyan cities one-by-one, and then moved into Tripoli, with the help of NATO forces and armed residents.

Related: Moammar Gadhafi's Most Outrageous Outfits

A rebel spokesman says as long as Gadhafi remains on the run the "danger is still there.''

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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