Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Gunmen Kill Rebel Officer In Occupied Benghazi, Libya

Gunmen kill rebel officer in Libya's Benghazi

Published October 02, 2013

Benghazi (Libya) – Gunmen shot dead a rebel naval officer in eastern Libya on Wednesday, a security official told AFP, the latest in a string of killings targeting members of the counter-revolutionary forces.

"Unknown men fired at navy Captain Saleh al-Houdheiry, killing him instantly," in the city of Benghazi, security service spokesman Abdullah al-Zayedi told AFP.

Houdheiry was dropping off his son at the Benghazi medical school when the attack took place, Zayedi said, adding that the officer's son was seriously wounded and is in intensive care.

On Sunday, three rebel army and police officers died in separate attacks in the restive eastern city.

Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 counter-revolution led by the Pentagon and NATO that ousted and brutally lynched former Pan-Africanist leader Moamer Kadhafi, has seen a series of assassinations targeting so-called officers in the rebel security services.

Other attacks have targeted Western interests and diplomats, and much of the violence, including the killing of the US ambassador last year, has been attributed to radical Islamists in the region.

Libya's fledgling rebel regime has been struggling to build up an effective army and police force since the massive Pentagon-NATO bombing of the country in 2011 for seven months. Estimates that over 100,000 people were killed by western bombs and counter-revolutionary mobs.

Many armed militia groups who served as pawns in the imperialist overthrow of Kadhafi in 2011 have refused to give up their weapons and effectively control parts of the country.

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