Saif al-Islam Gaddafi killed in terrorist attack in Libya

A tragic testimony to Libya's stolen future, and to a society that is still broken 15 years after NATO bombardment brought Africa's most developed state to an end

mpr21
February 4th, 2026

Yesterday, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of the Libyan leader and long considered his successor, was killed by four gunmen in Hammadah, south of the city of Zintan in western Libya.

According to Sky News, the assailants disabled security cameras before opening fire on their target in the garden of the property and then fled. Hamid Gaddafi, the victim's cousin, told Libya Al Ahrar TV that Saif al-Islam "was martyred."

Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's former spokesman, denounced the assassination as a "treacherous" act, stating that he had spoken with Saif al-Islam two days before his death. "He wanted a united and sovereign Libya, safe for all its inhabitants. They have murdered hope and the future, and sown hatred and resentment," he wrote.

The Libyan prosecutor's office has launched an investigation to identify those responsible for the assassination. Brigade 444, a militia affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of the Government of National Accord based in Tripoli, categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist attack.

A life marked by imperialist aggression against Libya

In 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was killed near Sirte, his hometown. After more than four decades at the helm of Libya, the Libyan leader was captured by French NATO troops while in hiding. After being rescued from a drainage tunnel where he had taken refuge following the bombing of his convoy by NATO, the African leader was killed by French troops. His body, displayed for several days in Misrata, was finally buried in a secret location in the Libyan desert.

More than fourteen years after this tragic end, history seems to be repeating itself in the figure of his son, Saif al-Islam, born in 1972 in Tripoli. For a long time, Saif al-Islam was considered his father's successor. Educated in Europe, where he earned a degree in architecture and later a doctorate in Austria, he became a key figure in Libya.

During the 2011 uprising, he supported the fight against the coup plotters, and, following the dictates of the imperialists, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity related to the NATO-sponsored uprising.

Captured in November 2011 in the south of the country while trying to reach Niger, Saif al-Islam was held for several years in Zintan by local militias. Sentenced to death in absentia in 2015 by a Tripoli court, he was finally released in 2017 thanks to an amnesty granted by the government of eastern Libya.

Since his release, Saif al-Islam has lived discreetly, traveling under protection in the Zintan region. In 2021, he announced his candidacy for the presidential elections, initially scheduled for December of that year. This move garnered significant attention, as his supporters presented him as the only candidate capable of reuniting a country divided and embroiled in more than a decade of civil war.

The elections, repeatedly postponed due to political divisions, were never held. Saif al-Islam's candidacy remained a central element in debates about the country's political future.

The assassination of Saif al-Islam comes as Libya remains a devastated country, more than fourteen years after the brutal overthrow of Gaddafi. Two governments are vying for control of the country: the UN-recognized Government of National Accord, based in Tripoli and led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and a Benghazi-based administration backed by Khalifa Haftar and his sons, who have extended their military presence across the south.

Source: https://mpr21.info/asesinan-al-hijo-de-gadafi-en-una-atentado-terrorista-en-libia/