TRIPOLI, Feb 04 (BBC): Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libya's former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, has reportedly been shot dead. The death of the 53-year-old, who was once widely seen as his father's heir apparent, was confirmed by the head of his political team on Tuesday, according to the Libyan News Agency. In a competing version of events, his sister told Libyan TV that he had died near the country's border with Algeria. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was long seen as the most influential and feared figure in the country after his father, who ruled Libya from 1969 until being ousted and killed during an uprising in 2011. Born in 1972, he played a key role in Libya's rapprochement with the West from 2000 until the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.

Source: Libya Today February 04, 2026 18:05 UTC