05.02.2026 15:49
The last photos of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi who was assassinated in Libya, have emerged. The released images capture moments of Gaddafi eating at a low table.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, was killed in an assassination at his home in the city of Zintan, Libya.
CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION The Libya News Agency reported that Gaddafi's political team confirmed that the 53-year-old Gaddafi was killed in an attack at his home. Gaddafi's political allies called for an independent investigation. It is unknown who carried out the attack.
"KILLED BY A COMMANDO UNIT" Gaddafi's lawyer stated to the AFP news agency that the attack was carried out by four armed individuals. Lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi noted that Gaddafi was "killed by a four-person commando unit" at his home in Zintan, western Libya. The French lawyer added, "So far, we do not know the identity of these armed individuals."
LAST IMAGES EMERGED Meanwhile, the last photos taken before Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's death have emerged. The released images show moments of Gaddafi eating at a low table.
HE WAS DRAWING ATTENTION WITH ECONOMIC OPENING DISCOURSES Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed by opposition armed groups in the city of Sirte, Libya in 2011, played influential roles in Libya's domestic and foreign policy since the 2000s, despite not holding an official political position. Especially during the process of normalizing relations with the West, Saif al-Islam emerged as a negotiator on behalf of the regime and drew attention with his reform and economic opening discourses.
HE RECEIVED THE RANK OF MAJOR IN THE LIBYAN ARMY Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was born on June 25, 1972, in Tripoli, to Muammar Gaddafi's second wife, Safia Farkash. Saif al-Islam has five siblings, including one sister. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Tripoli University in 1994 and received economic education at IMC University in Austria in 1998. He completed his doctorate in England. After graduation, Saif al-Islam worked at the Industrial Research Center in Tripoli and took a position at a private consulting office in 1996. Despite having no military background, he was given the rank of major in the Libyan army and took over the presidency of the Gaddafi International Charity Organization, established in 1998.
In 2000, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi played a role in negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf group, which held German hostages in the Philippines. He was noted to be active in the process of releasing the hostages for 25 million dollars. He also played a role in resolving the case of the Pan Am 103 (Lockerbie) plane that was shot down in 1988; in this context, Libya paid 2.7 billion dollars in compensation to the victims. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi announced in 2003 that they would dismantle the country's nuclear program. He was also one of the influential figures in the process of normalizing relations with the United States in 2004. In 2007, he played a role in the process of releasing Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death on charges of infecting with the AIDS virus.
HE WAS SEEN AS GADDAFI'S SUCCESSOR Saif al-Islam, seen by some circles in Libya as a possible successor to Muammar Gaddafi, faced criticism that his reform discourses aimed to sustain the regime and legitimize it in the eyes of the West. During the uprising that began in 2011 and was called the "February 17 Revolution," Saif al-Islam Gaddafi stood by his father. The uprising resulted in the killing of Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte in October 2011 and the collapse of the regime.