Libyan political activist assassinated in Benghazi

An eminent Libyan political activist has been shot dead while leaving a mosque in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, a security official says.

Abdessalem al-Mesmari “was shot dead as he left a mosque and killed by a single bullet to the heart,” Colonel Mohammed al-Hijazi said on Friday.

The official said that a marksman was likely to have fired the bullet at him.

On July 15, gunmen in a vehicle gunned down Colonel Fethi Ali al-Amami, a commander with the investigation and rescue brigade of the Libyan Air Force, in the eastern port city of Derna.

On July 3, a group of armed men attacked Libya’s Interior Ministry in the capital, Tripoli, forcing the closure of the building.

In June, armed men killed appeal court judge Mohammed Ibrahim Houidi, the president of the criminal division, in Derna.

Over the past months, eastern Libya has been hit by bombings and assassinations targeting judges, military and police officers who worked under ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi.