BRUSSELS — NATO’s governing body is meeting today to decide when and how to end the seven-month bombing campaign in Libya, a military operation whose success has helped reinvigorate the Cold War alliance.

Meanwhile, a NATO official said commanders were not aware that Moammar Gadhafi was in the convoy that was struck Thursday in Sirte by missiles fired from a French warplane, and which led to his death.

“The convoy was a clear military target,” said the official who could not be named under standing rules. “We later learned that Gadhafi was in the convoy. Therefore the strike likely contributed to his capture.”

After Libya’s former rebels killed Gadhafi, officials said they expected the aerial operation to end very soon. But the North Atlantic Council may also decide to keep air patrols flying for several more days until the security situation on the ground stabilizes.

The final decision will depend on the recommendation of Adm. Jim Stavridis, the supreme allied commander, and the Military Committee, the highest military organ.

NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said, after the latest developments, the end of the campaign “has now moved much closer.” He has hailed the success of the mission saying that it demonstrated that the alliance continues to play an “indispensable” role in confronting current and future security challenges.