Son of former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi killed by masked men, reps say

Seif al-Islam al-Qaddafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, was reportedly killed by “four masked men,” according to his team.

The 53-year-old was killed in the town of Zintan, which is located southwest of the country’s capital, Tripoli, according to The Associated Press, which cited Libya’s chief prosecutor’s office. The office said he was shot to death, but did not provide other details, according to the AP. Additionally, the outlet said that Khaled al-Zaidi, a lawyer for Seif al-Islam, confirmed his death on Facebook.

The “masked men” allegedly stormed Seif al-Islam’s home and killed him in a “cowardly and treacherous assassination,” the AP reported, citing Seif al-Islam’s team. The team also claimed in its statement that the assailants closed the CCTV cameras at the house “in a desperate attempt to conceal traces of their heinous crimes,” according to the AP.

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Born in 1972, Seif al-Islam was the second-born son of longtime dictator al-Qaddafi. He was educated at the London School of Economics, where he studied for a Ph.D.

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Seif al-Islam, who was seen by many as Libya’s face to the West, has been described as the most influential man in the country, despite the fact that he did not hold an official position. He led the talks on Libya abandoning weapons of mass destruction and negotiated compensation for the loved ones of those killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, Reuters reported.

Muammar al-Qaddafi, who ruled Libya since 1969, was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011. The uprising led to a civil war, and the country has since become divided between rival armed groups and militias, the AP noted. In late 2011, Seif al-Islam was captured by fighters while trying to flee to Niger and was later released in June 2017 when one of Libya’s rival governments granted him amnesty, according to the AP.

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In November 2021, Seif al-Islam announced his candidacy in the country’s presidential election, but was eventually disqualified by Libya’s High National Elections Committee, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.