Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most internationally known son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has reportedly died in Libya, according to sources close to his family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi, and multiple Libyan media outlets on February 3, 2026.
Reports indicate that Saif al-Islam was killed in the western city of Zintan, where he had been based in recent years. Local media and family contacts cited informants on the ground, but as of this writing official confirmation from Libyan authorities or international agencies is still pending.
Saif al-Islam rose to international prominence during the 2011 uprising against his father’s regime, when he was seen as a leading political voice and, at times, a potential successor. Following the collapse of the Gaddafi government, he was captured in 2011 by militia forces in Zintan, and spent years in detention. In 2015, a court in Tripoli issued a death sentence in absentia, a ruling not widely recognised internationally. Over subsequent years, Saif al-Islam’s legal status remained contested and tied up in Libya’s complex post-civil war politics.
In recent years he had intermittently resurfaced in public life, at times positioning himself as a candidate in Libyan political dialogues and presidential discussions. His presence in Zintan was also linked to efforts to build local alliances amid competing factions in Libya’s ongoing political transition.
His lawyer, Khaled el-Zaydi, told local media on February 3 that family sources had confirmed Saif al-Islam’s death, but he did not immediately provide details about the circumstances or a cause of death. There has been no official statement yet from Libya’s Government of National Unity or rival administrations in the east of the country.
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Given decades of factional conflict in Libya and the fragmented nature of institutions, independent verification by international news agencies or government sources typically takes time. Reports of high-profile deaths or attacks in Libya have occasionally been disputed in the past pending independent corroboration.
Saif al-Islam’s reported death, if confirmed, would mark the end of a polarising figure whose life bridged Libya’s authoritarian past and its turbulent post-2011 transition.
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