Libyan air force colonel killed in Benghazi

A Libyan air force colonel has been killed in the eastern city of Benghazi, the latest in a series of attacks on security forces in the post-revolution country.

“The head of air traffic controllers in Benina military base, Colonel Adel Khalil al-Tawahini, was killed Thursday morning,” said Colonel Abdallah al-Zaidi, a spokesman for security services.

The officials said unidentified gunmen opened fire on Tawahini as he left his home in Benghazi.

The colonel’s assassination comes a week after armed men gunned down top military police commander, Ahmed al-Barghathi, in the city while he was leaving home to attend Friday prayers.

Benghazi is seen as the cradle of Libya’s 2011 uprising against the four-decade rule of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The city, however, remains largely in the hands of former rebels who refuse to lay down their arms or join the national security forces, despite efforts by the central government to impose law and order.

Over the past few months, the capital city of Tripoli and its suburbs have also been the scene of fierce clashes between rival militias.