Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the sons of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed, Reuters reports , citing sources close to the family, his lawyer and Libyan media. The circumstances of the death of Gaddafi's son are unknown to the agency.

According to the Saudi TV channel Al-Hadat, 53-year-old Saif al-Islam was killed near the city of Zintan in western Libya. He was allegedly shot dead in his own garden, where four criminals broke into.

Simon Denyer/The Washington Post/Getty Images Saif al-Islam Gaddafi during an interview with The Washington Post in 2011

Al-Hadat reports, citing Libyan media, that Gaddafi's son was killed at home as a result of a clash between two armed groups, after members of one of them tried to detain him.

Political adviser to Saif Gaddafi Abdallah Othmanconfirmed on Facebook the death of the son of the former Libyan leader, without specifying the details of what happened.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is the second son of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1979 to 2011. He did not hold official government positions, but led foreign policy negotiations and domestic issues until the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, notes journalist Marianna Belenkaya.
After the overthrow of his father, Saif Gaddafi was detained. In 2017, it became known that Gaddafi’s son had been released. He returned to politics and planned to participate in Libyan presidential campaigns in 2018 and 2021, but elections did not take place.
In 2011, the International Criminal Court put Saif Gaddafi on the wanted list. Two charges related to crimes against humanity. Gaddafi was not extradited to court.

Saif Gaddafi, son of Muammar Gaddafi, killed