Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 53, was gunned down at his Zintan home on February 3, 2026. His political team called it a cowardly and treacherous assassination. Four masked men broke in, cut the cameras, and shot him dead in the yard.
Gaddafi tried to fight back but was killed. The attackers escaped.
His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, confirmed the death in a Facebook post on February 3, 2026. Political adviser Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim also announced it on social media and local television, stating the assailants disabled cameras prior to the hit.
Libyan prosecutors launched an investigation, with the attorney general's office confirming death from gunshot wounds and efforts underway to identify suspects. Forensic doctors examined the body.
The attack occurred around 2:30 a.m. local time. Three other individuals died during the assault: site guardian Ajmeri Al-Atiri, local militia leader Abou Bakr Al-Siddiq, and his son Mohammed. Zintan lies about 136 kilometers southwest of Tripoli in northwestern Libya.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was once seen as his father's heir apparent and a potential reformer. He led diplomatic efforts to disarm Libya's nuclear program in the 2000s. After the 2011 uprising, he backed his father's crackdown, then spent years in captivity and obscurity in Zintan after his capture by the Abu Bakr Sadik Brigade militia. He attempted a political comeback, running for president in 2021 and helping derail elections, but faded from influence.
No group has claimed responsibility. Speculation points to rivals fearing his symbolic return, lingering enemies from the 2011 civil war, or foreign actors. Libya remains fractured between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army in the east, with militias holding power in areas like Zintan.
With his death, any possibility of a Gaddafi-era comeback is eliminated.