The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for alleged crimes committed in the unrest-torn North African country since February this year.

Gaddafi was accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, allegedly committed across Libya from Feb. 15 till at least Feb. 28, the court said in a notice on its website.

The Netherlands-based court also issued warrants for Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi, Libya's head of intelligence, on the same charges.

After examining the evidence, the pre-trial chamber, composed of Judges Sanji Mmasenono Monageng, Sylvia Steiner and Cuno Tarfusser, concluded that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that the three suspects committed the alleged crimes and that their arrests appear necessary in order to ensure their appearances before the court."

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo began investigations into violence in Libya in March this year, and had requested arrest warrants for the three Libyan officials in mid May.