Libyan authorities have ordered the arrest of three suspects in the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the public prosecutor’s office announced Thursday. Investigators say they know the identities of the suspects and the time and location of the killing, but further details have not been released. Gaddafi was shot to death on February 3, 2026, at his home in Zintan, a city in northwestern Libya. His political team said four masked men stormed his house, disabled security cameras, and carried out a “cowardly and treacherous assassination.”
Saif al-Islam, the son of Libya’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, was seen as the reformist face of his father’s regime. After Muammar was killed during the 2011 NATO-backed uprising, Saif al-Islam was captured and later released in 2017. Despite an eastern Libyan court sentencing him to death, he remained in Zintan, becoming a symbol of reconciliation for his supporters.
He had announced plans to run for president in 2021 but was disqualified, and national elections under the UN-backed peace agreement have been indefinitely postponed amid ongoing divisions between Libya’s rival eastern and western administrations. The investigation into his killing is seen as a critical test for Libya’s fragile security and justice system, as the country continues to navigate political fragmentation and civil unrest.
