East Libya military intelligence chief killed in car bomb

The head of military intelligence for eastern Libya’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) has been killed in a targeted assassination, according to eastern Libyan authorities.

Major-General Fawzi al-Mansouri was killed after an improvised explosive device was detonated as he entered his car outside his home in Benghazi’s Hawari district late on Monday, the Reuters news service reported, citing two security sources.

Prime minister of the Eastern Libyan government, Osama Saad Hammad, condemned the killing and pledged to “uncover the circumstances of the crime”.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, this treacherous terrorist act,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“There is no place in Libya for anyone who raises arms against the state, and no cover for anyone who plans, executes, finances, or incites assassination and terrorism crimes,” he added.

Al-Mansouri was appointed as director of military intelligence in Benghazi, with the rank of major-general, in 2024.

The killing highlights continuing security challenges in Libya, where rival administrations and armed groups ⁠have retained influence despite a ⁠2020 ceasefire that halted major warfare.

Libya split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions after a ⁠2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.