Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in an attack carried out by four assailants, Al Arabiya reported citing a source close to the Gaddafi family.
The 53-year-old was killed in the town Zintan, 136 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli, according to the report.
The source said the attackers shot Saif al-Islam in the garden of his residence before fleeing the scene. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the killing, the source added, according to Al Arabiya.
Libyan state news agency LANA also reported his death, citing his advisor, Abdallah Othman.
Sources within Saif al-Islam’s political team told Al Arabiya four gunmen stormed his residence after disabling security cameras.
According to the report, Saif al-Islam confronted the attackers and was killed at around 2:30 a.m. local time.
According to Al Arabiya, Saif al-Islam had long been seen as his father’s successor. In 2021, he announced he would run for president, but those elections were indefinitely postponed.
According to Reuters, the office of Libya's attorney general said in a statement that it was working to identify suspects and take the steps needed to bring a criminal case.
