#BreakingNews: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Assassinated at Residence in Western Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was killed in a targeted attack in the western Libyan town of Zintan, according to regional media reports and sources close to his family. Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya reported that the 53-year-old was shot dead by four armed assailants at his residence late Tuesday night. The attackers allegedly disabled security cameras before confronting Saif al-Islam in the garden of his home and opening fire, killing him at around 2:30 am local time. The gunmen fled the scene immediately after the attack.

While Libyan authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the incident, one of Saif al-Islam’s close associates described the killing as an assassination. His death was also confirmed by Abdullah Othman, a former political adviser, who announced the news in a social media post.

Saif al-Islam remained a significant political figure in Libya even after the collapse of his father’s rule in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising. Despite holding no official position, he was widely regarded as the most powerful figure in the country after Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for more than four decades. Educated at the London School of Economics and fluent in English, he played a key role in shaping policy during his father’s later years and acted as an interlocutor with Western governments.

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He was instrumental in Libya’s efforts to re-enter the international community, including negotiations over abandoning weapons of mass destruction and securing compensation for victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. For a time, he was seen as a reformist figure who advocated constitutional governance and greater respect for human rights.

That image unravelled during the 2011 uprising, when Saif al-Islam emerged as a vocal defender of the regime and threatened rebels with violence. After the fall of Tripoli, he attempted to flee Libya but was captured by a militia and detained in Zintan. He spent several years in custody and was sentenced to death in absentia by a Tripoli court in 2015 on war crimes charges before being released in 2017 under an amnesty law.

Saif al-Islam later returned to the political spotlight in 2021 when he filed his candidacy for Libya’s long-delayed presidential elections. His bid proved deeply divisive and was opposed by powerful armed groups and victims of the former regime. Legal challenges and security disruptions eventually contributed to the collapse of the election process, pushing Libya back into political stalemate.

His killing highlights Libya’s continuing instability and unresolved political tensions more than a decade after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. No group has claimed responsibility so far, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear as investigations continue.

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