Egyptian police have arrested a close aide and cousin of the late Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, BBC News said.

Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam was Tripoli's special envoy to Cairo for many years and left Libya for Egypt shortly after the 2011 uprising against Col Gaddafi. Although sought by the Libyan authorities, the charges against him are unknown.

Egyptian security forces surrounded his Cairo home and there was an exchange of fire before he surrendered. The circumstances surrounding the arrest remain unclear.

Vehicles of the Egyptian security forces had been sent overnight to Gaddaf al-Dam's home in the Zamalek neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital.

Gaddaf al-Dam told foreign media outlets that his guards had clashed with the Egyptian forces as they were unsure of their identity. It is unclear if anyone was injured.

Pictures then showed a smiling Gaddaf al-Dam in a car, waving to the camera as he left the home.

Gaddaf al-Dam played down the arrest, saying he was going voluntarily to Cairo's prosecutor general with his lawyers "to file a complaint".