Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of ex-Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi, killed: What we know so far

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan. (File photo/Reuters)

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son and former heir apparent of Libya's late ruler Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in the northern African nation, senior Libyan officials told AP.

His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, and political adviser Abdulla Othman separately announced the death of the 53-year-old on social media on Tuesday, February 3, without disclosing further details.

"We belong to God, and to Him we return. The mujahid Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is in God's care," he wrote in a Facebook post.

The office of Libya's attorney general on Wednesday said investigators and forensic doctors examined the body of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi on Tuesday and determined that he died from gunshot wounds, Reuters reported.

The office added in a statement that it was working to identify suspects and take the steps needed to bring a criminal case.

Libyan outlet Fawasel Media quoted Othman as saying that armed men attacked Gaddafi at his residence in the town of Zintan, around 136 kilometres southwest of Tripoli.

What we know so far?

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, was killed in an attack carried out by four assailants, according to Saudi-owned publication Al Arabiya.

Attackers shot Saif al-Islam in the garden of his residence before fleeing the scene on Tuesday evening, a source close to the Gaddafi family told the publication. Reports claimed gunmen disabled security cameras at Gaddafi's house and shot him after a confrontation. He was killed at around 2:30 am (local time).

Details about the circumstances of the incident that claimed his life have not been fully disclosed, but one of Saif al-Gaddafi's close associates described it as an "assassination", the report added.

Who was Saif al-Islam Gaddafi?

Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, Saif al-Islam was known as the reform-inclined face of the Gaddafi regime. With a PhD from the London School of Economics, he had once been projected as the modernising force in his father Muammar Gaddafi's authoritarian rule.

Gaddafi was ousted in a NATO-supported uprising in 2011 after four decades in power. He was killed later that year as the country spiralled into conflict. Libya has since collapsed into division and violence driven by rival militias and political factions.