Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Reportedly Killed in Libya Shooting
February 4,2026
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has reportedly been shot dead, according to Libyan media and international news agencies. He was 53.
The Libyan News Agency said the death was confirmed by the head of Gaddafi’s political team on Tuesday. His lawyer told AFP that a four-man commando unit carried out an assassination at his home in Zintan, although the perpetrators remain unidentified. However, his sister gave a conflicting account, stating that he died near the Libya-Algeria border.
Once regarded as his father’s heir apparent, Saif al-Islam was a key figure in Libya’s engagement with Western countries before the 2011 uprising that led to Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow and death. After the collapse of the regime, Saif al-Islam was detained by a militia in Zintan for nearly six years.
He was wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the violent suppression of protests in 2011 and was sentenced to death in absentia by a Tripoli court in 2015. He was later released under an amnesty law in 2017.
Libya has remained deeply divided since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, with rival governments and armed groups controlling different parts of the country. In 2021, Saif al-Islam announced plans to contest Libya’s presidential elections, which were later postponed indefinitely.
Source; BBC
