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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was killed at his home in Zintan
According to Al Jazeera, the 53-year-old was reportedly attacked on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, by four masked men who stormed his residence, located about 136km southwest of Libya's capital, Tripoli.
According to his political team, the assailants disabled security cameras in an attempt to conceal the attack.
Gaddafi's lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, and his adviser, Abdulla Othman, confirmed the news in separate Facebook posts.
While no official suspects have been named, Othman stated that the attackers were armed and carried out the hit inside the home
Saif has remained a polarising figure in Libya since his father's death in 2011.
Despite having no official title, he was long considered the heir apparent and a bridge between Libya and the West.
Following his release from prison in 2017, he lived in Zintan while attempting a political comeback.
Born in June 1972, Saif presented himself as a Western-educated reformer during his father's decades-long rule
He was instrumental in negotiating Libya's abandonment of weapons of mass destruction and seeking compensation for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
However, his "progressive" image shattered during the 2011 uprising.
As rebellion spread, he famously chose family loyalty over his previous calls for human rights. He warned that "rivers of blood" would flow and vowed to fight to the last bullet.
Following his father's death, Saif was captured while trying to flee to Niger disguised as a Bedouin. Though he was sentenced to death in absentia in 2015, he was later pardoned.
His 2021 presidential candidacy reignited political tensions, leading to a deadlock that remains a major hurdle for Libya's future.
