Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and once widely seen as his late father’s heir apparent, was shot dead during a “direct confrontation” with four gunmen who stormed his home, his office has confirmed.
The 53-year-old’s death was confirmed this week by the head of his political office. His lawyer told the AFP news agency that a “four-man commando” unit carried out an "assassination" at his residence in Zintan, a city in western Libya.
However, no details were provided about who may have ordered the killing or the motive behind the armed men storming his home.
Once groomed as his father’s successor and long regarded as one of the most influential figures in the oil-rich North African state, Saif al-Islam fell into obscurity after the 2011 uprising that toppled his father’s four-decade rule. Captured in 2011, he spent nearly a decade in captivity in a remote hill town before re-emerging in national politics.
In the years following his release, Saif al-Islam launched a bid for the presidency, a move that played a role in complicating Libya’s attempts to hold a unified national election.
