Once Groomed to Lead Libya, Former Dictator Gaddafi's Son Shot Dead Inside Home

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been shot dead in a suspected assassination in the western Libyan town of Zintan, according to reports by Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya.

The 53-year-old was killed during the early hours of Wednesday after armed assailants attacked his residence. Reports stated that the attackers disabled security cameras before opening fire in the garden of his home. The gunmen reportedly fled the scene immediately after the attack. Saif al-Islam is believed to have died around 2:30 am local time.

While Libyan authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the incident, people close to Saif al-Islam described the killing as a targeted assassination rather than a random act of violence. His death was later confirmed by Abdullah Othman, a former member of Saif al-Islam’s political team, who announced the news in a Facebook post expressing condolences.

Zintan, located about 136 kilometres southwest of Tripoli, has played a central role in Saif al-Islam’s life since the collapse of his father’s regime in 2011. Following the NATO-backed uprising, he attempted to flee Libya disguised as a Bedouin tribesman but was captured by the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade militia and taken to Zintan, where he remained detained for nearly six years.

In 2015, a court in Tripoli sentenced Saif al-Islam to death by firing squad for war crimes related to the civil conflict. He was released in 2017 under an amnesty law but continued to live largely underground, citing persistent threats to his life and fears of assassination. During his detention, international rights groups reported that he lived in isolation and had limited contact with the outside world.

Saif al-Islam re-entered the public eye in 2021 when he filed his nomination for Libya’s long-delayed presidential elections from the southern city of Sabha. His return to politics sharply divided the country. Supporters viewed him as a symbol of stability from the pre-2011 era, while opponents, particularly groups that fought against his father, strongly rejected his candidacy. He was eventually disqualified due to his 2015 conviction, a move that became one of the major flashpoints contributing to the collapse of the election process and Libya’s continued political stalemate.

Once seen as the polished international face of the Gaddafi regime, Saif al-Islam’s life after 2011 was marked by imprisonment, legal battles, political controversy and years in hiding. His killing adds to Libya’s long list of unresolved political assassinations and underscores the country’s fragile security situation more than a decade after the fall of the Gaddafi government.

Investigations into the attack are expected to begin, though no group has so far claimed responsibility and further details remain awaited.

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