Saif al Islam Gaddafi the influential son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed on February 3, 2026, after armed assailants stormed his home in Zintan, western Libya. A group of four gunmen broke into his residence. They reportedly disabled security cameras before the assault.
Gaddafi was killed during a confrontation with the attackers around 2:30 a.m. local time The motives and identity of the gunmen remain unclear. Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, he was once considered his father’s heir apparent and held significant influence in Libya.
Educated in the UK, he played a lead role in diplomacy and reform efforts in the early 2000s. After Libya’s 2011 uprising, he supported the regime’s crackdown and was later captured by rebels, jailed in Zintan, and sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes.
Released under an amnesty in 2017, he resurfaced publicly and attempted a controversial 2021 presidential bid, which ended in disqualification.
Saif al-Islam’s death eliminates a major political figure capable of influencing Libya’s fragmented post-Gaddafi landscape and could affect future attempts at national reconciliation and elections.
